A Snowflake in the Land of Fire
by ZevaFairax
Summary: This is the story of Jayne (oc) and her teammates Itachi and Shisui as they grow as ninja and face all that is thrown at them. Follow them as they grow as a team and work to protect their village and the ones they love. Rated M for language, dark themes, violence, and future smut (Like way future). Future OCxShisui. yeah its official, I'm horrible at summaries.
1. Prologue

Prologue

A/N: Prologue is set during the Nine-Tails attack on Konoha. Sorry It's really long (over 3,00 words… oops), I wanted to have a section for each of my main characters in this story to set up an introduction to them. Itachi and Shisui are the 1st two to show up since they are canon characters. The last two are my OC's Jayne Kushinada and Ayato Tennoji. These first few chapters might be a bit slow since I am setting up a lot of stuff.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

 **Itachi**

Itachi sat on the porch of his house staring up at the moon. _Where could mother and father be?_ He felt something shift in his arms and he smiled down at his new baby brother. He noticed Sasuke furrowing his eyebrows with a look of anguish on his face. That's when Itachi sensed it, an icy chill in the air.

"What is this feeling?" He murmured. Sasuke began crying as the air grew more intense. "There, there," Itachi tightened his hold on the little one. He looked back to the moon, "It's such a strange feeling." _Of all the times mom and dad could be out._

Sasuke's cries got louder as this strange feeling in the air began to grow more violent. Itachi gave the small child a reassuring smile, but he wondered if it was more for himself than the baby.

"Don't cry Sasuke. I will protect you no matter what happens. That's what big brothers do," Itachi cradle the small child's head snugly against his chest.

The sound of people shouting began to fill the air. He could pick out the deep voice of Setsuna Uchiha, one of his father's right hand men, shouting for people to take cover and get to safety. Suddenly an image that frequently haunted Itachi's mind showed up:

 _It was the end of the 3_ _rd_ _shinobi war and his father brought him to the battlefield. All Itachi saw were bodies. Bodies everywhere. All piled on top of each other. The heavy rain poured down washing the dried blood off the lifeless bodies. All those bodies._

" _Remember this battlefield well, Itachi," His father said placing a hand on his shoulder. "In a few years you will become a shinobi. If something doesn't change after this war, this will be your reality."_

 _Itachi's body started to tremble involuntarily, drops of rain pelting his skin. The urge to cry took him over. He could cry, his father wouldn't notice because of this rain. His heart felt so heavy, his chest tight. If he was going to become one of these shinobi he couldn't allow himself to cry, but the tears came anyways._

 _He looked down at the bodies near him, all wearing different headbands, yet shared the same pain and suffering of war. Everyone suffered from war no matter what country they fought for. They all died secretly hoping, praying, that they wouldn't be the one to perish._

 _Clenching his fist, Itachi finally choked out, "This is the world I have to live in…"_

" _Yes," his father gave a slight pause, "This is why I am showing you this battlefield. Being a shinobi means you fight. You fight until the end. Don't forget what you've seen here on this day."_

Itachi made a promise to himself that day. "I will change this world," he murmured. He glanced at his crying baby brother, "I will change this for you. This may be my world, but I will do all that I can to make sure it isn't yours."

Itachi stroked his little brother's head while making his promise. He stared up at the moon one more time repeating his promise silently. _I will become hokage and I will change this world for everyone. For Sasuke._

 **Shisui**

Shisui watched everyone as they ran in different directions trying to hide and save themselves from the giant, orange, monster towering over the village. The city was in chaos. He clenched his fists while standing in the middle of the hectic streets of Konoha. This is his city, hell if anyone was going to make him stand aside. He ran towards the center of the chaotic heap of people. That's when he saw him.

"Fugaku-sama!" Shisui ran up to the large man that was not only the head of his clan, but also the Konoha police force.

The large man turned at hearing his name called. For a moment he seemed shocked to see the kid running through the crowd towards him.

"Hn, Shisui? What are you doing out here? You should be back at the compound," Fugaku said with a stern expression.

"I can't sit around while my village is being attacked! Please, Fugaku-sama, let me help!" Shisui's voice was full of determination, "It's my duty as an Uchiha to help protect the people of Konoha!"

"Shisui you are just a child. This is no game!" Fugaku's deep voice sent a chill down Shisui's spine.

Shisui stood straight, he had to stay strong, "Please Fugaku-sama! I may be just a child but the elders say I have potential for becoming g a great shinobi like my grandfather."

Fugaku stared at the child. It was true the clan expected great things from this child. He began to think of his own son who showed similar promise. He would like it if Itachi had a friend like Shisui.

"Alright then, my two sons are at my house all alone and I'm worried about their safety. Your orders are to go and protect them."

Shisui's eyes brighten, "Yes sir!"

He ran off towards the Uchiha compound. He had seen the clan head's house several times in passing. _What was his son's name again? I think it was Itachi._ Shisui saw the house up ahead and could hear the sound of a crying baby.

"You're Itachi, right?" Shisui approached the two boys. This Itachi looked like he was about the same age as Shisui. "I am Shisui Uchiha and I am tasked to protect you."

Itachi had a confused look on his face as he looked up at this strange new boy who had just showed up. "Why?"

"What do you mean, 'why'?" Shisui frowned.

"You're not a ninja, so why are you tasked with protecting me?" Itachi said trying to seem as uninterested as he could, but something about this boy's presence drew him in.

Shisui pouted, "So? I'm gonna be one so what's the problem with getting a head start. Plus, you should know an Uchiha's job is to protect the people. That's what my grandpa taught my dad, and my dad taught me." Shisui flashed him a thumbs up.

Itachi stared wide eyed at the boy in front of him. Was this the will of fire Konoha is so proud of?

Shisui pulled out the Kunai his dad gave him for his recent birthday. He got in a stance ready to defend anything with his back turned to the two boys. He knew that it was unlikely anything would happen, and if that giant fox monster did attack them he wouldn't stand a chance, yet he wanted to be strong and work hard. He was going to take any kind of training he could get seriously. Even if it was just standing here keeping guard.

The cries of the baby filled the air with an occasional hush from Itachi. Shisui was an only child with no siblings of his own. He found the sight of Itachi holding his little brother to be a beautiful one.

"What's his name?" Shisui asked standing firm.

"Sasuke," said Itachi.

"Is it nice having a little brother?" Shisui asked.

Itachi nodded, "Yes, I love him very much."

He looked back them, a warm smile spread across his face, "it's nice being a family isn't it? I want to be a great shinobi so I can protect something as precious as a family bond."

Itachi's eyes widen at Shisui's words, "I think, I would like that too."

Shisui turned towards him and reached out two fingers towards him, "then let's work together to make a better world!"

Itachi smiled and met Shisui's fingers with his own and they made a firm shake, "yes"

Shisui gave a bright smile to his new friend. _Yes, together they can change things for the better_.

 **Jayne**

Jayne Kushinada walked along the river as it glowed with the reflection of the moon. She would sleep here tonight. She hated the beds at the orphanage and the other girl in her room snored louder than a walrus, if walruses snored. Jayne was pretty sure they did and that this girl was louder. She sat down on the grass, nothing beat the soft Earth and the smell of the river.

Jayne dipped her hands into the river pulling out a handful of water. She closed her eyes focusing her chakra into her palms. She could feel the weight of the water lift into the air. She open her bright blue eyes to see a ball of water floating in her hands. Now this was the hard part, she knit her eyebrows together and bit her lip as she focused on the water in her hands. It slowly began to take on different shapes until she picked one she like, a little polar bear. Biting her lip a little harder now, she could begin to feel the freeze leave her fingers and slowly take over the water. In a few seconds the water turned into solid ice. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, this was her best work yet. The little sculpture actually looked like a bear, not a deformed aardvark like all her other pieces. She would have to show it to him. 'Him' being that Jonin shinobi who was annoyingly always dragging her back to the orphanage after she'd run away. However, she grew fond of him as the weeks went on. She soon found herself running out for the sole purpose of making him find her so she could beg him to teach her how to become a ninja.

"Ayato-sama would probably be mad I am working on jutsu," she mumbled to herself. He was always telling her she was too young to start trying to use chakra. He said at five years old her chakra is still developing and she should just wait until she enters the academy. Instead she should enjoy her childhood while she still has one. This always made her laugh, what childhood did she even have to begin with? No parents or immediate family to take care of her. Nobody knew who they were and if they did, they didn't tell her.

All she had from her family was a fancy leather chest that had belonged to her father. The outsides of it was worn and had what appeared to be blood stains. Inside contained a lot of scrolls as well as large journal filled with her father's handwriting. Jayne was frustrated she couldn't even read them yet. She's been working hard to learn but reading is really difficult to figure out on your own. That was another thing she begged Ayato-sama to teach her but he would refuse, always saying something along the lines that teaching a dumb baby to read wasn't the reason he became a Jonin.

A sudden chill stung the air, one she knew she didn't create, and pulled her back into reality. The air grew dense and she could feel some kind of pressure in her chest. Her ears started to ring and her throat was swelling. _What is this? It hurts._ The ringing in her ears turned into screeching.

A deep, hateful voice filled her head, "Kill… Kill... Kill… Destroy Konohagakure!" The voice continued its chanting full of hatred and resentment.

In the distance a giant Kitsune appeared and was attacking the village. An evil red chakra flowing from its body with the same hatred that was swallowing Jayne a hundred yards away. The Kitsune was going on a rampage, destroying everything nearby, killing any ninja that dared approach it. As its anger and hatred grew more and more, the more pain Jayne felt seeping through her body.

With the pain searing through her brain she let out a loud scream and she felt a rush of ice leaver her body. Her vision started fading to black as she slipped away from her consciousness before realizing what she'd done.

 **Ayato**

The streets were in complete and utter chaos as civilians ran for their lives from the monster that just appeared. _The nine-tails_. Ayato furrowed his eyebrows. _I thought it was supposed to be sealed away in the Hokage's wife? Dammit, what's going on?_ Ayato looked at his companions in the rescue division all hurrying to rush people to the Academy that was considered a safety shelter. Even though he wasn't too fond of being tasked with moving around civilians, it beat going up against that monster.

Ayato ran down a street he was growing all too familiar with. The orphanage was just a few blocks away. His feet seemed to have carried him there on their own. As he got closer all he could hear was the cries of terrified children. He spotted the old lady who ran the orphanage.

"Yo, it's way too dangerous for these kids to be here. We are evacuating this whole area. Gather up the kids and I'll lead you to the academy," Ayato yelled.

"Thank you Tennoji-san," she gave a quick thankful bow, "Alright children, everyone hold hands and follow Mr. Tennoji."

He observed the crowd of kids as they were all crying and sniffling. He was just glad they were actually following orders and not moping around. Maybe this would be easier then he thought. He felt a small tug on his green vest. He looked down to see a small girl with pigtails and large round glasses standing beside him.

"U-um s-s-sir, J-Jayne isn't here" She stuttered while trying to hold back tears.

 _You've gotta be fucking kidding me! Of all the times that brat could run off she had to go tonight!_ "Did she say where?" Ayato tried to contain his frustration so he didn't scare the already terrified girl.

Her eyes widened, looks like he wasn't doing too good of a job. "W-well, s-she s-said that she h-hated how I s-s-snore like a 'stupid ugly fat walrus' so she was g-going to s-s-sleep by the r-river."

 _Yup, that sounds like something the brat would say. So much for this being easy._ Ayato looked around to see if he could find someone else in his division to help him move all these kids. And there he was, Hiro Sarutobi, just the man he wanted to shrug off his duties onto.

"Hey Hiro, I need you to take this group to the academy, I have something I need to do," Ayato said.

"The hell, now's not the time to be slacking off you moron! I have things I need to do to!" Hiro turned towards him with fire in his eyes.

"Hey, this is important, a little girl's life is in danger," Ayato snapped not wanting to argue with his rivals attitude.

"Fine," Hiro said with one final glare before turning to leave.

 _Great, now I have to find that kid. Hopefully she is at her usual spot._ Ayato took off running towards the river spot he's been visiting a lot lately. That girl has always been so troublesome ever since the beginning, yet he'd be lying if he said he still didn't like the kid. He's actually grown quite fond of the feisty little girl, insults and all. _Hn, 'stupid ugly fat walrus,' he'd have to write that one down._

Arriving at the spot the girl usually spends her time at, he saw no signs of the girl. He ran along the river a little ways and spotted what seemed to be an ice dome. _What the heck is that?_ He tried to sense any nearby chakra flows to indicate if someone was around. He felt a tiny one coming from within the dome. _No way, did the kid do this?_ He approached it and through the thick walls he could hear the faint sound of crying. _She is definitely in there, but how? This is some kind of ice release. I've never seen anything like it before. She must have some kind of kekkei genkai._

The ice was strong and won't break easily. Ayato got his hand ready. _Wind Slash._ He swiped his hand across his body sending a wave of sharp wind to cut into the ice dome. It made a huge gnash in the side. _One more. Wind slash._ The side of the dome he attack crumbled down and he could see the girl inside. He was shocked to see she was laying on the ground unconscious. Even though she was passed out, she was crying and trembling. It's like she was having a nightmare.

"Jayne!" Ayato ran up to her tiny body. He shook her shoulders trying to wake her up, "Hey, come on. Now's not the time to sleep."

The moment her eyes opened and she gained consciousness her face twisted in pain and she let out a tiny scream. She covered her ears with her hands and her body stared trembling even more than it already was.

"What's wrong? Did you get hurt?" Ayato scanned her small frame for any injuries.

"It hurts!" She cried, "The air hurts!"

"The air?" Ayato murmured. _What the hell was she talking about?_ The air was a bit intense due to the massive chakra being emitted from the nine-tails. _Oh, that's it._ "Are you talking about the chakra?"

"I don't know! Make it stop!" She cried out clinging onto his vest.

He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. _How can the chakra be affecting her this much? Is she that sensitive to it? I guess people being sensitive to chakra isn't unheard of._

"Don't worry I'm going to take you somewhere safe, got it? Everything is going to be just fine," He tried to calm her down. He took off towards the academy. Seeing the rest of her friends from the orphanage might calm her down, even if she does think they are just 'stupid ugly fat walruses.'

"No!" She yelled suddenly.

"No? You don't want to go to safety?" His eyebrow twitched with annoyance. Here he was being this girl's knight in shining armor and she says no. Why does he even try with this kid?

"I don't want to go anywhere. I'm scared and it hurts," She said. She was still trembling and squirming making it hard to hold her.

"Fine," He sighed. He moved over to a tree so he could lean up against it. The girl was still latched onto him as she buried her face in his shirt. _Gross, the tears and snot of a five year old, just what I needed._

He hesitantly patted her on the head to try to calm her. _Damn, I'm no good at this kind of stuff._ He looked out into the distance where the kitsune was. There was the hokage fighting with all his might. This disastrous event was going to change a lot of things around Konoha. A lot of lives have been lost already on this night. He looked down at the girl. Her generation was already born during the war and had to spend their childhood in fear. Now this is happening. What's going to happen to this generation of shinobi? Will they emerge as even better ones than his own generation? Or will they be cold and heartless from being raised in war? Maybe they will all be soft pacifist that despise fighting leaving Konoha weak? Ayato turned his head to the sky. What is going to happen in this land that is hidden in the leaves?


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A/N: This chapter might be a bit slow since I'm doing more set up. Also it is set in the present time now but most of this chapter will be told through Ayato's flashbacks. Also, I decided to change the ages of Itachi and Shisui to fit my story better. I know they graduated the academy before 13, but I don't really want to write a story about 8 year olds. Thanks for being understanding!

Disclaimer: I donut own Naruto.

* * *

Ayato walked through the halls towards the hokage's office. There was probably another mission all lined up for him. He knocked on the two large doors waiting for permission to enter.

"Enter," The voice of the hokage called out.

Ayato stepped into the room. The sight he saw repulsed him, "Ah, gross!" He pinched his nose.

Hiro was standing next to the hokage's desk, "Oh dad look, there's a rat in your office."

The two rivals glared daggers at each other. Ayato was about to make another witty comeback when her heard the hokage sigh.

"You two never change do you? Hiro you're dismissed, I need to speak with Ayato," The old hokage said.

"Alright, try not to catch any diseases," Hiro spat as he started to exit the room.

Ayato kept his mouth shut. _Dammit, if only his father wasn't standing right there, I'd throw a kunai right at the cocky bastards head!_

Once the door closed Ayato spoke up, "What is it you wish to speak to me about?"

The third hokage stood up from his desk and looked out the window, "There is a whole class of students about the graduate the academy. I need a few more Jonin to become senseis."

"You want _me_ to be a sensei?" Ayato was actually shocked. Never in his life did he think he would ever be chosen to become a sensei.

"Yes, I was quite shocked too when your old teammates suggested you become a sensei," The hokage said looking out over his village. "They have told me about how you have befriended one of the girls in this class and have been meeting with her frequently for quite a few years now. They say she even calls you sensei."

The hokage smiled. He'd known Ayato since the boy was a genin in Hiro's class. The boy had a bit of a brash personality and a foul mouth. He was always working hard to become stronger, mostly so he wouldn't fall behind to Hiro. He liked to goof off with his friends and go to bars on his off days. He wasn't really someone you would want to leave your children with. But his teammates brought up a good point that he has changed ever so slightly since meeting the girl. He has much more patience than before. He has never been easy on her or anyone else, which is great when training the future shinobi of Konoha. After long thought, the hokage decided it was worth a shot.

Ayato felt a bit embarrassed by the hokage's words. This girl was damaging his reputation, making him seem like some big softy.

"So, what do you think about becoming a real sensei to this girl and two other genin?"

* * *

* Flashback*

Ayato was heading home after some lunch with his friends when he passed the orphanage like he does every day, except this time was different. In passing, a frantic old lady came running up to him.

"Oh, Mr. shinobi please help me, one of my children have gone missing!" The old lady had tears forming in her eyes.

"You need to go the hokage's building and file a missing person's report then," Ayato said and started walking again.

She grabbed his arm with more strength than he expected from the little old women, "Please! No one has seen her since yesterday morning! She is just five years old! She is probably scared and hungry. What if something horrible has happened to her? Oh please you have to find her!"

Ayato could already feel his patience growing thin, "Listen grandma, like I said you have to file a report."

"Please!" the lady got on her knees to beg him to find this lost child.

Ayato notice people were starting to stare at them, watching this strange exchange going on. "Alright, alright. I'll help just this once. Next time you have to fill out a report."

"Thank you so much. Let's see, well I already said she is 5 years old and she is about this tall," The old lady stuck out her hand to give a height. "She has very bright blue eyes and brown hair. Her hair is usually in a low braid. Her name is Jayne Kushinada."

"And do you have any idea where she might be?" Ayato asked.

"I've been looking all over the city and so have the children. Nobodies seen her," The old ladies face was full of worry.

"Alright well I will start looking. In the meantime you need to file a report," Ayato said as he started walking away. This was troublesome and annoying. The last thing he wanted to spend his day doing was looking for some brat that ran away from home. This kind of stuff would be considered D rank, C tops.

It took him until evening when he came across a little girl with her legs dangling in the river. She fit the description. He started to approach her when he noticed something in her palms. A small, marble-sized ball of water was floating in her hands. _Impressive for a five year old._ He stood there and watched the girl, her face full of concentration. She let out a deep breath and the water lost its shape collapsing in her tiny hands.

"Hey, go away! You are distracting me!" The little girl turned in his direction.

He raised an eyebrow. He didn't think she'd notice at this distance.

"Are you Jayne Kushinada?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "hm, no"

Ayato's eyebrow twitched. It was obviously her. Then he had an idea, "Well that's too bad. What am I supposed to do with that large gift I was supposed to deliver to her?"

Her eyes suddenly perked up, "wait, I am Jayne!"

Ayato smirked. Children were so simple,

"But you just said you weren't. How do I know you aren't trying to steal the present?"

"I was lying! I didn't want a stranger to know me!" She jumped up to her feet.

"Oh good, because I was lying too. I am here to bring you back to the orphanage," Ayato tried to contain his laugh as the girl suddenly grew very angry.

"What?! No! I don't want to go back. I'm going to live out here," She plopped back down onto the ground.

He raised an eyebrow, "oh really? What are you going to do for food?"

"I will hunt my own food!"

"What about clothing?"

"This is all I need."

"It will get really dirty and smelly."

"I will wash them!"

"What will you wear when you wash them then? And when they are drying?"

She paused, "I will hide in the bushes!"

He couldn't help but laugh. What a ridiculous child. "Alright then, what about when it's raining?"

"I like the rain."

"You will catch a cold, then what?"

"I will train myself to not get sick!"

"Well, all of those sound like terrible ideas. Come on, you need to get back to the orphanage. That old lady was going crazy looking for you," Ayato said once he was done messing with the kid.

"No!" The girl got up on her feet again after scooping up some water in her hand. She formed her little water marble then yelled, "Take this!"

The water marble dispersed immediately after it left her hand. Her face suddenly turned red.

"Man, I'm embarrassed for you," Ayato smirked.

"Shut up grass head!" She yelled.

"Grass head?" Ayato patted his head. His hair was green. Short in the back with some side bangs that flopped over his hitai-ate, partially covering his left eye.

"Yeah! You're hair looks like droopy grass!" The girl said pointing at his bangs.

Here came the famous eye twitch again, Ayato's patience was now gone, "You little brat! And here I was being nice! Let's go" He quickly grabbed her and threw her tiny body over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" She yelled, pounding her fists into his back.

"Stop moving!" Ayato shouted.

"Never!"

* * *

And that was the start of the strange friendship between the two. She continued to run away for a couple weeks, Ayato always being the one to drag her back. Soon she started running away on purpose just to hang out with him. She always begged him to train her to be a ninja and every time he said no. He didn't want to train a little kid who doesn't know the first thing about being a ninja. He promised her he'd maybe teach her a thing or two when she got older. Ayato decided that if she wanted to meet up with him they should do it like normal people would and actually make plans. So they did, once a month they would get together to meet. Once she started at the academy a couple years later they didn't see each other as often but when they did she would show him everything she had learned. She improved a lot. She was a smart girl towards the top of her class. About 3 years ago Ayato was sent on an S-rank mission to Kumogakure to do some undercover work. Relations were horrible between the two nations and his mission wasn't ended until a couple weeks ago after the death of Hizashi Hyūga. He still hasn't see her since he left three years ago.

"Ayato?" The voice of the third hokage brought him back to reality.

"Sure. I'll do it," Ayato said, "who are my other two genin?"

"I haven't made any final decisions yet but after the discussions with the academy instructors, I want Shisui Uchiha on your team as well," The hokage walked over to a stack of papers.

 _No way, an Uchiha on my team?_ _They're damn strong!_ Ayato just nodded. That left one more spot.

"This is where the tricky part comes. Fugaku Uchiha requested that his son be placed on a team with Shisui because he believes they are great influences on each other and will become some of the strongest Uchiha in their clan. We usually try not avoid putting clan members on the same team together, especially if they are an Uchiha or Hyūga. We don't want to overpower teams. Normally I would just say no but because of the strained relationships we've had with the Uchiha since the nine-tails attack, I'm not sure what to do," The hokage seemed torn.

 _Dang, two Uchiha's? I'd be the luckiest sensei in all of Konoha._ "I see"

"I'm hoping if I go through with Fugaku's request, he'll ease up on me. The last thing I want is to give them another thing to be angry about," The hokage stared at the academy sheet of the two Uchiha boys. They were the top two of their class. Ayato's team would definitely have an unfair advantage. Maybe it will inspire the other teams to work harder.

The hokage continued with another thought, "Both Itachi and Shisui get along well with the girl. The instructors say she is one of the few Itachi will interact with outside of Shisui. Shisui has a pretty outgoing personality." A small smile grew on his face, "He has the will of fire, just like Kagami."

Ayato sighed as the Hokage started to think about his old teammate. "Well, you are the hokage, not Fugaku. Whatever you decide is word."

The hokage looked back at Ayato. He knew Ayato could handle this team. "You are dismissed. I will let you know my decision soon."

"Yessir," Ayato left the office.

He placed his hands behind his head as we walked casually through the village towards his apartment.

"Hm, Ayato-sensei doesn't really sound that bad."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N: We will see the whole team together for the first time in this chapter! You will also get to see how Jayne befriended each of the Uchiha's

Disclaimer: Own Naruto I do not

* * *

Twelve graduating students sat in a classroom waiting anxiously for their new teams to be announced. This was the biggest moment of their lives so far. It is what will set up their future. Their new sensei and teammates will be with them for the next few years creating a precious bond that will last them the rest of their lives.

Jayne was sitting in the front right corner of the room with the four other kunoichi in their class.

"Who do you want to be on your team, Hana?" Yuna, the blonde girl, asked.

"Hm," Hana Inuzuka placed her hand on her chin while she thought, "Soryu Hyūga is pretty cool. So are the Uchiha boys. It would be so cool to be on a team with one of them!"

"Yes! Those boys are so cute! What about Ryuzo Hatsune?" Momoka Tanemura chimed in.

Jayne sighed, boys were all these girls talked about. Jayne glanced over at the boys who were gathered also talking. She wandered what they talked about, probably not something as trivial as who was the coolest. They probably talked about what cool new jutsu they're learning or maybe the politics they hear their parents talk about at dinner.

"Jayne, what about you?" Yuna asked pulling Jayne back into the conversation.

On the other side of the room the boys stood in the back corner.

"Yuna is definitely the hottest girl!" Thomas said.

"No, it's definitely Jayne," Junpei Tanemura argued with Ryuzo nodding behind him.

Takamasa spoke up, "Momoka is super cute though!"

"Gross you can't call my twin sister cute" Junpei said.

"Fine then, if I have to pick between Jayne and Yuna I would have to lean towards Yuna," Takamasa said.

"2 Yuna and 2 Jayne. What do you think Uchihas?" Ryuzo asked.

"I don't care" Itachi mumbled. Why do they have to talk about girls?

Shisui laughed at his friend's disinterest, "Itachi's IQ is too high for your nonsense. But my IQ on the other hand is just right! Jayne all the way!"

Itachi rolled his eyes. It was strange how Shisui can switch so easily from serious to goofball.

"Hyūga?" all the boys turned their eyes towards the boy standing against the wall.

"I think you're all Idiots. Look here comes the instructor," Soryu nodded his head in the direction of their instructor.

"Alright genin listen up," The instructor's loud voice quieted the room. "I'm sure you are all aware that today you will be assigned to your teams. Just because you passed the academy doesn't mean you are good to go. Your sensei still has to pass you for you to move up in the ninja world. I'm going to announce team names. When you are called, the first person I name will grab the scroll telling you the location of your new sensei then you will head out."

The instructor unrolled the scroll with the teams listed. The room became very quiet as everyone listened. They were all anxious to find out what was in store for them.

"Team 2," The instructor began, "Soryu Hyūga, Junpei Tanemura, and Hana Inuzuka." The three students stood up. Soryu grabbed the scroll from the instructor and then they were gone.

"Team 3: Ryuzo Hatsune, Takamasa Goda, and Yuna Kai," The second group got up following the same pattern as team 2.

Jayne exchanged a look with the two other kunoichi in her class. She looked over at the boys that were left. Thomas and Itachi sat there. Thomas had the same half asleep look in his eyes as always and Itachi sat with unreadable emotions. She looked up at Shisui who was sitting on the desk next to Itachi. They suddenly made eye contact. He smiled and gave her a wink. She quickly turned her head back to the teacher to hide her blush. She remember the first time she had ever spent time with Shisui:

* * *

*Flashback*

Jayne was walking through town when she suddenly heard some shouting.

"Get back here you punk!" An old man's voice rang through the streets. She could feel the faint smell of smoke like something was burning.

She could hear heavy footsteps approach her. When she turned to look she was met with a loud THUD! She fell on her back getting the wind knocked out of her.

"Jayne?!" A familiar voice asked in shock.

Hearing her name she looked up to see Shisui Uchiha leaning over her. He looked a bit panicked. His black eyes searched the area frantically.

He reached out a hand towards her to help her up, "Hurry up!"

She grabbed his hand not sure what else to do. He pulled her to her feet with a strong yank and then continued pulling her down the street. They ran a little bit until he spotted a small ally way where they could hide behind some trash bins. When they finally stopped they were both breathing pretty heavily.

"Shisui," she panted, "What is going on?"

"Well, you see I was trying to help this old lady heat up her tea kettle, because she forgot about it and it got cold, and I kinda accidentally caught this other old guy's vegetable stand on fire. Let's just say he won't be making any profits today," He laughed nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Why would you blow a giant fireball at a tea kettle?" Jayne raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't trying to. I thought I could make a small flame," He was obviously embarrassed. "Oh yeah, sorry for crashing into you. It sounded pretty painful."

"It's okay. I just got the wind knocked out of me for a second," Jayne brushed off some dirt from her skirt.

Shisui noticed what she was doing and realized he got dirt all over her back. "Let me help you!"

He turned her around and started whacking the dust off. He wasn't very gentle since he was so nervous about ruining her dress.

"Hey, where were you going before I bumped into you?" He suddenly asked.

"I was on my way home," Jayne said.

"Let me walk you there to make up for knocking you down and getting you all dirty," Shisui smiled. Seemed like a fair deal.

Jayne suddenly got quiet. Living at an orphanage wasn't exactly something she liked to tell others.

"It's fine, you don't need to do that," Jayne mumbled.

"No, let me! I would feel bad if I didn't make it up to you. Where do you live?" He asked not knowing the inner turmoil she was facing.

"No!" She said suddenly. He looked a bit surprised. "I mean, I change my mind. I want ice cream!"

He started at her for a moment. She blushed. _Ice cream? That's the best I could come up with? He probably thinks I'm is some kind of weirdo._

He suddenly started to laugh, "haha! You want Ice cream now? I guess it's a pretty hot day. Let's go!"

Now he was dragging her towards the nearest ice cream stand.

"What do you want?" He asked?

"I think I will get chocolate," Jayne said moving her hand towards her little coin bag.

"Don't worry about it! It can be my apology. I also like chocolate the best," Shisui quickly paid for their ice cream and they sat down at a nearby bench.

They chatted the whole time about the academy and their classmates. Shisui made fun of their instructors doing his best impressions. Jayne had never laughed so much with someone her own age. She realized she'd been pretty lonely lately since Ayato-sensei was gone.

"Wow look at the time! I gotta run home for dinner!" Shisui quickly got up off the bench. He turned back to her one last time before running off, "Hey Jayne, see you tomorrow at school."

"See you tomorrow," Jayne gave him a small wave. She walked home with a big smile on her face thinking about the new friend she had just made.

* * *

"Team 5: Itachi Uchiha, Jayne Kushinada, and Shisui Uchiha," The instructor said.

Itachi was a bit shocked, as much as he wanted to be on a team with Shisui he didn't think it would be allowed. _How come they put both of us on one team_? Itachi got out of his chair to retrieve the scroll from their instructor. The three new partners walked out of the building, curious to find out where to meet their new sensei.

"Well, what does it say?" Shisui came up behind him to glance over his shoulder. Jayne did the same and stood at his other side.

Itachi unrolled the scroll and read it out loud, "Itachi, Shisui, and Jayne: Meet me on the west side of lake Konoha. There is a training ground there. Be ready to show me what you've got."

"It should take us around fifteen minutes to get to the west side of the lake from here," Jayne said.

"Alright. Let's get going," Shisui said leading the way towards the lake. Itachi and Jayne followed closely behind him. "So who do you think our new sensei is going to be?"

"I have no idea," Jayne said.

"Let's make a bet! Whoever can guess the most features of our sensei wins," Shisui gave a big smile. "I'm going to guess black hair, brown eyes, and a beauty mark on his face somewhere."

Jayne took a couple seconds to come up with her guess, "Brown hair, green eyes, and they will be super buff!"

Itachi sighed, he knew he wasn't getting out of this, "Black hair, black eyes, and it's a girl"

Itachi watched his new teammates rattle off more descriptions for the bet. He's known Shisui since that day the nine-tails attacked. Jayne he met at the academy. He thought back to their first encounter:

* * *

*Flashback*

It was his second year at the academy and it happened to be the instructor's birthday so his wife brought the class cookies. Itachi was sitting at his desk enjoying his warm cookie. _This is the most amazing cookie ever._ He was thoroughly enjoying it when suddenly someone bumped into him. The cookie flew out of his hands and hit the ground. He watched it fall almost as if it was in slow motion. The worst part was that after the kid bumped into him, he stumbled and stepped right on top of the cookie.

"Aw man, Sorry Itachi," The boy apologized. But Itachi wasn't listening. He stared down at the crushed cookie. _His cookie_. It was like the world stopped moving and everything was still.

"Um, Itachi," a girls voice brought him out of his trance. He looked up to see it was the girl sitting at the table next to him. He knew her name was Jayne but that was about it. He never paid much attention to others. He watched as she broke her cookie in half and offered the side she hadn't eaten from, "You can have this half of my cookie if you want."

Itachi was a bit shocked she would give up such a treasure, "Why?"

"Well you seemed to be really enjoying your cookie before you dropped it. I wouldn't mind sharing my cookie if it makes you happy," she smiled.

Itachi felt a small blush spread across his face, "thanks."

"They are pretty good aren't they?" Jayne said taking a bite into what was left of her cookie.

"Yeah, my mom's not very good at baking so we don't really get these kind of things at home," Itachi said.

"Really? Maybe once I get a bit bigger I will learn how to make cookies and bake you some!" Jayne seemed excited at the new challenge.

Itachi didn't really know how to respond to such kindness. His father and the other top members of the Konoha police force were always so stoic and strict. He watched the girl as she started talking to the other boy at her table. _I wonder if she will actually make me cookies someday._

* * *

"Itachi, what do you think?" Shisui called out to his friend who was obviously spacing out.

The boy blinked, "what?"

"We were just talking about what kind of test we think our sensei might give us," Shisui filled him in.

"I heard when the fourth hokage was a sensei he made his team steal some bells off him," Jayne chimed in.

"Our sensei has probably come up with something different. All tests can't be the same," Itachi said.

"Yeah. I'm sure we can handle whatever we have to do as long as we work as a team. I wonder how well we'll work together," Shisui said. He has sparred with Itachi quite a bit but never with Jayne.

"Even if we start out rough, we have a lot of time to work on it," Jayne was so optimistic. Shisui liked that about her. They got along pretty well and were able to joke around. He had only spent time with just her once, every other time was in a group with their classmates.

"So, you guys finally made it?" someone called out to them. He was leaning against a training post. He had green hair, brown eyes, and was wearing the typical jonin attire.

"Grassy head-sensei?" Jayne looked excited. She started running towards him. Shisui was a bit surprised. _Does she know him already? More importantly, did she just call him grassy head-sensei?_

"Shut up! How am I supposed to look cool in front of my new students when you call me names like that?" The grassy head-sensei grumbled.

"So you are our sensei?" Itachi asked.

Before the man could answer Jayne pounded him with more questions, "How long have you been back? You've been gone for so long! Are you really our sensei? Now you definitely have to teach me since I'm your real student!"

"Calm down child, let me talk," The man said. The two Uchiha boys watched this exchange not really sure what was going on. The man then cleared his throat showing he was ready to start talking, "I am Ayato Tennoji, your new sensei. As you've seen, Jayne and I already know each other so I look forward to getting to know you two boys as well."

Shisui straightened up, "I am Shisui Uchiha. I'm looking forward to learn from you."

Itachi then introduced himself, "I am Itachi Uchiha and I also look forward to learning from this experience."

"Good," A smile crept across his face, "Then let's get started."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N: Since this is my first fanfic I've never written action scenes before. Let me know what you think. Instructive criticism is always welcome if you feel it needs work.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine

* * *

"50 shadow clones in under 30 minutes," Ayato stated his challenge. "One hit destroys a clone. It shouldn't be too hard if you guys are any good. Oh, and since it's your first time I won't have multiple attacking you at once, unless you seem to be ready for it."

"Hai!" The three students said in unison.

Ayato put his hands together. _Shadow clone jutsu_. With a poof fifty Ayatos appeared. Jayne, Shisui, and Itachi all got in a battle ready stance.

"The timer starts now!" Ayato yelled.

Itachi summoned his large shuriken and launched it at a nearby shadow clone. He excelled at Shurikenjutsu. He could definitely take out quite a few with this skill. He watched as the large shuriken ripped through two clones and smashed into a tree.

A clone came up behind him slashing a kunai at his chest. He was able to block it just in time with a kunai of his own. With his free hand he pulled a smaller shuriken out of the bag at his hip and threw it at the clone's neck before it had time to react.

There were 4 clones in his way of getting back to his large shuriken. He jumped up in the air to gain a more aerial advantage. Two kunais came at him from different directions he was able to block one but the other grazed his arm. Because of the kunai distraction he landed on the ground without being able to perform his fireball jutsu. This time he jumped towards the nearby tree and pushed off of it to get higher. He got his hand sign ready so the moment he got the right angle he could unleash his fireballs. _Fireball jutsu!_ He blew the large flame out of his mouth and it engulfed three of the clones in flames. Itachi landed next to his large shuriken. He immediately threw it at the remaining clone.

On the other side Shisui was working quickly to defeat his opponents. He is already a master of the body flicker technique and was able to move without leaving a trace. As a clone approached him he quickly flicked behind him, slashing him with his tanto. Immediately after striking one down he moved to the next taking clones down one after the other before they had time to react.

Shisui was suddenly surrounded by clones with multiple coming at him at once. He flicked around avoiding attacks. He furrowed his eyebrows. _These clones have stepped it up a bit_. He flicked behind a clone that quickly turned around to block his attack. Shisui jumped back quickly signing with his hands. _Fireball jutsu!_ The clones in the area all poofed away into burning tree planks. That's about the seventeenth one he had taken out by himself. _I wonder how Jayne and Itachi are doing_.

Jayne stood with her back to the lake. It was the perfect set up, she had plenty of water to use and destroy any clone that came her way. _Water Bullet Jutsu._ Following her hand signs the water lifted into the air and shot at the clones like a torpedo destroying each one they made contact with. One of the clones blew a strong gust of wind breaking the water. He ran forward at her throwing a punch. She dodged his fist and they engaged in some hand to hand combat. She hated to admit that she wasn't a physically strong person, but her speed made up for it. The clone suddenly poofed away turning into a piece of wood with a shuriken sticking out of it. She looked up and saw Itachi not to far away. He gave her a quick nod and got back to fighting his own opponents.

Jayne got repositioned and made more hand signs, "Now it's my turn to help. Ice Release: Raining Senbon!" Water from the lake floated up and formed several hundred senbon. She fired them towards the clones in all directions. She focused on Itachi and Shisui to make sure not to let any senbon hit them. A senbon shouldn't hurt them too bad but it is enough to destroy a clone.

Looking around there were about 4 clones left for them to fight off. Two of them teamed up against Itachi. Shisui and Jayne both fought their own. These clones would probably be more difficult than the rest.

Itachi watched the two clones as they both gathered chakra in their hands and slashed wind at him. He dodged quickly as they kept throwing more wind. It was so fast he didn't have time to make any counter attacks.

"Itachi, incoming!" he heard Jayne's voice yell. He looked over to see she threw two kunai towards the clones. With the wind they'd never make it.

Quickly he made hand signs and blew out some fire to envelope the kunais and increase their power. The Kunais plunged into the clones destroying both at the same time.

Jayne smiled, _great teamwork. He knew exactly what I was trying to do._ Her moment of happiness didn't last long as she suddenly felt the wind get knocked out of her and a pain in her side. When she got distracted helping Itachi she forgot about her own clone she had to deal with. The clone had kicked her combining it with the force of the wind to make it an even stronger impact

Shisui was nearby when he heard Jayne let out a yelp and hit the ground. He quickly finished off his clone and flicked to where she was, standing in between her and the clone. He clashed his Tanto against the clone's kunai. The clones suddenly pulled out his free hand. _What's he doing?_ It started to form a one handed sign. _No way, he is signing with one hand!_ The cloned suddenly let out a giant burst of wind from his mouth blowing both Shisui and Jayne away. Shisui quickly grabbed onto her to help her land on her feet since she was still a little out of breath from the strong kick she got earlier.

"Jayne, blast some water at him!" Shisui instructed, "Itachi get the fireball jutsu ready."

Jayne nodded and put her hands together. The water turned into one large torpedo. Shisui gathered his lighting chakra in his hands. When she sent the water towards the clone he stuck his hands into the stream adding an electrical current to it. Seeing this, Itachi blew his Fire to circle around the water-lightning torpedo. The attack was huge and destroyed everything within the 15 foot radius of the impact.

"That was impressive," the real Ayato emerged from the tree he was watching from. He looked down at the kids who were breathing heavily and pretty beat up. "I guess you pass."

The kids were too exhausted to be excited.

"Hey, I'm starved," Shisui complained.

"Ayato-sensei, you should treat us to dinner as our reward for passing!" Jayne smiled.

"I don't need to get you anything. Passing is your reward!" Ayato snapped.

"We should go to that new ramen shop that just opened up," Itachi added.

"What? Did you not hear what I just said?"

"Good idea Itachi! I heard it's not that expensive so Ayato-sensei will be able to easily pay for us," Shisui said with confidence.

"Hold on!" Ayato raised his voice so he could be heard.

Jayne ignored his attempt to break into conversation, "And since he just came back from such a long mission I'm sure he just got a pretty big pay check."

"I didn't go through all that just to pay for the meals of three little kids!" Ayato huffed. Then he gave a defeated sigh, "Fine, just for tonight to celebrate our new team."

The three genin cheered at the free meal. They all headed out towards the ramen shop to have their first meal as a team. They had fun and laughed about little things. Ayato watched the smile on his kid's faces as they stuffed themselves with ramen.

"Wow, I'm beat," Shisui threw his hands behind his head.

"You kids should all get home. I don't want your parents getting mad at me on the first day," Ayato said handing over the money for the bill.

"Alright, Shisui, let's head back to the compound together," Itachi got out of his seat.

"Sounds good, but what about Jayne? Should she be going home alone?" Shisui stretched his arms.

"I can walk her home," Ayato said and with that they went their separate ways.

"So how long have you been back, Ayato-sensei?" Jayne asked.

"Hm, about a month now," Ayato said.

"What?! How come I haven't seen you until now?" She had an angry look on her face.

"What? I thought I'd surprise you," Ayato said casually.

Jayne pouted. She had been worried about him since he was gone for so long. He was the person she felt the closest to.

Her eyes suddenly brightened, "Oh, I was going to ask you if you have an oven!"

"An oven? Yeah, why?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you see, I want to do some baking but that old lady won't let me use the kitchen. I've been asking her for years but she thinks I will burn the place down," She crossed her arms over her chest.

"So instead you want to burn my apartment down?" Ayato teased.

"I won't burn anything down! But I need you to help me bake some cookies!" Jayne said, he little face turning red with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"What on Earth makes you think I know how to bake cookies?" Ayato asked.

"All you have to do is follow the instructions. I just need someone to show me how to use the oven and stuff," Jayne said.

"And stuff? You mean like everything else? How to stir, mix, measure?" Ayato laughed.

Jayne was quiet.

Ayato sighed, "I know someone who can probably teach you how to bake. I will talk to her and let you know sometime after training."

A big smile grew on her face, "Thank you!" She gave him a quick hug and ran inside the orphanage.

Ayato sighed. _The kid hasn't changed a bit._


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine

* * *

A few weeks of training went by and they had just finished another session. Jayne plopped down on the grass, her training clothes clinging to her sweat covered body. Shisui came and laid out next to her, Itachi following closely behind and sat down.

"Man, conditioning sucks," Shisui said letting out a deep breathe.

"Why do we have to run so much?" Jayne moaned.

Ayato appeared behind them, "You will thank me one day. Being able to run great distances is required of a ninja, especially if you want to become a jonin or anbu."

Itachi quickly stood up, "I just remembered I have to babysit my little brother this afternoon! I will see you guys Monday, bye."

Shisui waved to his friend. His parents were also going to be gone for the Uchiha clan meeting going on tonight, except he didn't have anyone to look after so it was just him. _How boring._

"Jayne, are you ready to go?" Ayato asked.

"No! I am too dirty right now!" Jayne said.

"Ready for what?" Shisui chimed in full of curiosity.

"Jayne is getting a baking lesson," Ayato said, "and it doesn't matter if you're sweaty. You don't have to look good to bake."

Jayne pouted, "but I don't want to give any bad first impressions!" The person Ayato asked to teach Jayne how to bake was his old teammate. Jayne really wanted to meet her and leave a good impression.

"Hey, can I come too?" Shisui asked. He had nothing to do and he was extremely curious about this baking lesson that was going to take place.

Jayne turned to him a little surprised, "We are baking cookies. Do you really want to do that?"

"Why not? I'm not sure when my parents are going to get back tonight so I would be alone otherwise," Shisui crosses his arms.

"Hey grassy head-sensei, will your apartment even fit 4 people?" Jayne asked.

Ayato's eyebrow twitched. _That nickname again?_ "Of course it will. How poor do you think I am?"

"Then let's go! We don't want to keep your friend waiting," Jayne stood up.

"This will be fun!" Shisui got up and walked next to her.

Ayato sighed, these kids really enjoyed making decisions on their own. He led them to his apartment, it was a pretty average size, not small like Jayne assumed. Once they arrived he offered Shisui and Jayne some wet towels to clean up a bit before she arrived.

Jayne observed his apartment. This was her first time here. It wasn't very decorative and had the bare essentials. The only pictures he had in his house were in his living room on a table. She approached them and picked one up. It was a picture of a young Ayato, probably around her age, posing with what was probably his team. They all had strained smiles on their faces as they stood in front of a large man in a green jumpsuit with shiny black hair and eyebrows as thick as his mustache. He had a scarily optimistic smile and was giving a thumbs up.

"Is this Ayato-sensei's team?" Shisui asked coming up behind her. It startled Jayne and she dropped the picture. Shisui quickly reached out and grabbed it right before it hit the ground.

"That was close, thanks," Jayne whispered, blushing at her clumsiness.

"What are you two doing?" Ayato called over eyeing his whispering students.

"We were just looking at this picture. Was this your team?" Jayne asked.

Ayato walked over to see what the kids were looking at, "Ah yes. This is Nozomu Nikaido, one of my teammates. He is actually one of the senseis to a group of your classmates. And this here is Might Duy, my sensei. He was a very strange man, always going on about youth." He pointed to the man with the bushy eyebrows and mustache. Then he moved his finger to the girl standing in the middle, "This is Rina Ninagawa, she is the one who will be here in a few minutes to teach you guys some baking."

The sound of someone knocking on the door filled the room.

"Perfect timing," Ayato quickly went to the door to let in his old teammate.

Jayne stiffened up. She felt so nervous.

"What are you so stiff for?" Shisui asked.

Jayne blushed, like she so easily does, "We are about to meet one of Ayato-sensei's best friends!"

"So?" Shisui didn't understand why she was acting so nervous.

"You wouldn't understand," Jayne pouted.

Shisui opened his mouth to say something when Ayato returned to the room carrying several grocery bags. Following behind him was a small beautiful women. She had shoulder length dark brown hair that framed her face. She didn't wear a forehead protector like in the picture and was wearing casual clothing.

When she saw the two genin she froze and stared at them, "Are these your new students?"

"Yup, this is Shisui Uchiha and the bratty one is Jayne," Ayato smirked.

"Hey!" Jayne crossed her arms over her chest.

Rina was silent for a few more seconds, then she let it all out, "OMYGODTHEYAREESOCUTE!"

"What?" Ayato was a bit taken back.

"Look at how adorable they are!" Rina rushed over to where the two of them were standing. Shisui also seemed a bit shocked but Jayne was beaming.

"Of course we are cute!" Shisui said with a confident smile.

Jayne elbowed him in the side, "Rina-sama, it is nice to finally meet you."

Rina smiled, _so this is Jayne,_ "I'm glad to finally meet you as well, Jayne. I have heard a lot about you!"

Jayne's smiled, "Thank you for taking the time to teach me how to bake cookies."

"Of course let's get started!" Rina lead the way to the kitchen where Ayato was waiting with the groceries she had brought.

Shisui looked at the full bags on the counter, "Does it really take all this?"

"No, just the stuff in this bag. The rest are things I bought for Ayato because I know he doesn't do a good job shopping on his own," Rina said nudging him in the ribs.

Ayato rolled his eyes, "Let's just get started."

"Alright," Rina clapped her hands together, "Jayne, you can help me set out the ingredients and Shisui, you can get out the bowls and measuring tools."

Jayne grabbed the bag and started pulling out things like flour, chocolate chips, and eggs. She set them all out in a neat line on the counter. Shisui set down a bowl and a measuring glass and a few measuring spoons.

"Ayato-sensei, I'm surprised you have this stuff in your house," Jayne said commenting on his cooking utensils.

"It's not like I ever use them. Rina is always buying me stuff to cook with." Ayato said.

"And you should, it's not healthy to always eat instant meals," She winked. "Alright next I'm going to have Shisui preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Jayne, I'll show you how to measure out some flour."

Shisui moved over to the oven. He was really only here because it sounded more fun than sitting all alone at home. Plus spending more time with Jayne didn't sound so bad, she was pretty fun to be around.

"Know what you're doing?" Ayato asked.

"No idea" Shisui laughed.

"How did we get dragged into this?" Ayato sighed, "Just hit bake and then keep pushing the arrow until you get to 350."

Shisui did just that and then went over to figure out his next task, "what's next Rina-sama?"

"Hm, how about you put in the two sticks of butter then add ½ a cup of sugar." She said then turned back to Jayne who was busy mixing the contents already in the bowl. She smiled as she watched the girl who was focusing hard on what she was doing. Somehow this girl was able to help Ayato soften his heart and be a bit kinder, slower to anger, and more patience. Something she had been trying to do for years.

"What next?" Jayne asked.

"We need two eggs. I will show you how to do one and then you can try with the other. Shisui, I need you to throw in 2 cups of chocolate chips."

"Hai," Shisui said and got to work.

The cookies came along well and they soon put them into the oven and had to wait for them to be done cooking. They sat on the couches and talked to pass the time.

"So what was Ayato-sensei like when you guys were on a team?" Jayne asked.

"Let's see, he was pretty grumpy and he got into fights a lot. Duy-sensei would punish him by making him run laps with him around the village," Rina said.

"Hey, don't make it sound like I was just walking around picking fights! I was always provoked," Ayato crossed his arms.

"Provoked? By who?" Shisui asked.

"His rival, Hiro Sarutobi. Ever since the academy they've fought. I don't think they even remember why they started fighting in the first place," Rina rolled her eyes remember all the dumb fights the boys got into.

"Sarutobi? Like the Hokage?" Jayne asked.

"Yeah, he is the Hokage's oldest son," Rina said.

"A cocky bastard is what he is," Ayato grumbled.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention he also had and still has a foul mouth!" Rina scolded.

"He does! He is very rude," Jayne added.

"Shut up Jayne, don't act like you don't insult everyone you meet," Ayato snapped.

"How could you say that? Jayne is an angel," Rina frowned.

"She is a little devil," Ayato glared at the kid. She was turning Rina against him.

Shisui started laughing. By being on Jayne's team he noticed her insults to people. She always called people she didn't like names. Poor Nanami has been called a Walrus since he can remember.

"Yeah, 'grassy head-sensei', Jayne's great," Shisui joined in on the teasing.

"Grassy head-sensei?" Rina almost choked when she started laughing.

Ayato felt his face turn red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment, "I hope your cookies burn."

They all joined in laughter when the timer 'dinged' notifying them the cookies were done. Jayne jumped up and ran to the oven.

"Careful, it's hot," Ayato handed her a heat pad.

Rina smiled. If Ayato really was mad at her or disliked her he never would have helped her.

"Dang! These smell really good!" Shisui hovered over the cookies.

Jayne smiled, "We did it!" The two genin high-fived.

"They look pretty good," Rina confirmed.

"I can't believe you didn't burn the house down," Ayato muttered.

Everyone grabbed a cookie and took a bite. They were delicious.

"Not bad," Ayato said.

"We have to save some for Itachi!" Jayne said. "Do you have a baggie we could put some in for him?"

"Yeah over here," Ayato went over to a drawer and pulled out some plastic bags.

"I can give them to him when I go back to the compound," Shisui said.

"You better not eat them!" Jayne warned.

Shisui put his hands in the air, "I won't, I won't"

Rina laughed watching their little exchange. The team seemed to have great chemistry.

"It's almost 1:00 now," Ayato said, "You kids probably should head out so you can get a late lunch."

"Jayne, do you want to go to that ramen shop?" Shisui asked.

"Yeah!" Jayne said excitedly.

Ayato and Rina said goodbye and watched as the two genin walked out of the apartment.

Rina laughed, "I love your students. You have a good team."

"They are pretty good kids," Ayato agreed.

"You know, if someone told me you would one day become a sensei, I would have told them they were crazy," Rina wrapped her arms around his torso.

Ayato smiled, "Me too." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, "Shall we get some lunch of our own?"

"If the kids are going to the ramen shop we can go to that one sandwich shop on the opposite side of town," She said.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Ayato took her hand and led her out the door.

Ayato smiled, _today was actually a pretty good day. I got cookies, got to spend time with Rina, and Jayne didn't burn down my house. Good day._

* * *

A/N: So a few quick things. (1) Sorry that was a slow and uneventful chapter but I hoped you liked it. I just wanted to give you more of an inside to Shisui, Jayne, and Ayato. (2) I know Might Duy never passed genin in the show but I decided to change it because I thought it would be funny to make him the sensei to someone like Ayato. (3) Rina and Ayato simply have a hidden relationship mostly because they just don't want to be public about it yet. Rina is not a main character and the relationship won't really be necessary to the plot, in fact I debated whether or not to make them a couple or just teammates but then I thought, "why not?" and gave Ayato a girlfriend. (4) The teams 1st mission is the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A/N: So this is my first fanfic and I didn't realize how much this site changes the formatting I had in my word doc. I went back ad edited the previous chapters and put the horizontal lines that didn't carry over. Hope that makes it easier to read.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto but I do not

* * *

Itachi was putting his boots on when a little Sasuke ran up to him, "big brother, when you get back from training will you play with me?"

"I'm not training today, I have my first mission. Maybe next time," Itachi told his brother.

Sasuke's big black eyes shined, "you have your first mission? What is it?"

"It is some kind of delivery. I don't know what or to who yet, but that's what I'm about to find out. I have to go meet my team at the hokage's office," Itachi told his little brother.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Sasuke beamed.

"We can play next time," Itachi said and poked his brother on the forehead. He got up to leave and started heading towards the hokage's office.

At the gate of the compound he found Shisui leaning against the entrance.

"Ready to go?" Shisui said with a calm smile.

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "I was expecting to find you bouncing off the walls with excitement."

Shisui started to lead the way to the hokage's office, "Well I am excited, but it is time to be serious. As a ninja you have to know when to shut off your emotions."

"It's strange how you can switch from a loud cheery guy to an emotionless shinobi," Itachi said.

"Well, not everything is fun and games, but not everything has to be dead serious too. I think you should loosen up a bit when we're not training or on a mission. You don't want to waste your life away always being so stiff," Shisui said.

"I'm not stiff. I'm just not as outgoing you," Itachi mumbled.

"There is nothing wrong with that. What I mean is you should allow yourself to smile more. Let yourself laugh. I understand you are under a lot of pressure being the chief's son and all, but you have to live your own life," Shisui said with his voice serious. "Look there's Jayne and Ayato."

Itachi was silent knowing what he said was true. He has always admired Shisui and thought of him as another brother.

"Shisui! Itachi!" Jayne waved at them.

"Alright, we're all here so let's go in," Ayato led them to the hokage's office.

The three genin entered the large round room in awe. The hokage sat at a large desk in the middle of the room. He was studying some documents and slowly looked up when he heard them enter his office.

"Ah, Team 5, are you ready to receive your first mission?" The hokage asked.

"Hai!" The three genin said at once.

The hokage pulled out a scroll and handed it to Ayato, "It is a C ranked mission since it involves traveling outside of Konoha, but it should be a simple task. I need you to deliver these textiles to a man that lives on the outskirts of Sunagakure. Our normal delivery man was struck with a fever so I am asking you."

"Of course. What is the deadline?" Ayato asked.

"I need the textiles to arrive today. Since this is the kids' first mission and they have never travelled before, I will allow you to return tomorrow if you find they need to spend the night somewhere to rest," The hokage said.

"Hai, hokage-sama," Ayato looked over the scroll. "We will head out right away."

"Perfect, you are dismissed. Good luck on your first mission team 5," the hokage waved them off.

With that they made their leave and started heading towards the city gates.

"So where are the textiles we need to deliver?" Jayne asked.

Ayato handed her the scroll, "right here."

She rolled open the scroll and found at the bottom some markings indicating a seal. "So they are sealed inside the scroll?" she asked.

"Yup" Ayato confirmed.

"How long does it take to get to Suna?" Itachi asked.

"At this pace, maybe three to four hours," Ayato said casually.

"Three to four hours?!" Jayne raised her voice.

"How close do you think Suna is? If we ran we could get there in half the time," Ayato said. "I was planning on walking and then making you guys run back."

"But that's so much running!" Jayne pouted.

"Yeah? What do you think I've been conditioning you for? Ya know, my sensei would make us run to and from missions. If we didn't get there in half the time we were expected to we would have to do 500 push ups when we got back," Ayato said remembering some not so fond memories.

"Is that necessary?" Itachi asked. He assumed as long as they got back before the deadline they were good. There wasn't any prize or bonus cash for finishing a mission so quickly.

"No, but it was for training our 'youthful souls'" Ayato smirked.

"What if we ran half way both times? Like half way there and half way back?" Shisui asked finally joining the conversation.

"Why are you trying to change the running plan?" Jayne chimed in.

"Well, I don't think any of us have enough stamina to run the full distance," Shisui said.

Ayato thought about it for a moment, "We can do that. We can run now and then walk the second half so you aren't all out of breathe when we arrive at Suna."

"What is the half way point?" Itachi asked.

"I will let you know when we get there," Ayato said. "Let's start running now."

Team 5 took off running through the forest path. Ayato and Shisui were a little ahead and Jayne and Itachi kept pace behind them. Jayne hated running. She was fast, but she hated it. She could keep pace with Ayato and Shisui but she'd rather not exert herself that much. Of course if she was in some kind of trouble she could run faster, but since her life wasn't in danger she felt no need for it. She glanced over at Itachi who was running next to her. He should be up with the other boys but instead he stayed back with her.

Itachi felt Jayne watching him and glance at her. She seemed a bit puzzled and spaced out.

"Jayne, what is it?" He called out to her.

She blinked as if being pulled back into reality, "Sorry what?"

"You are staring. What are you thinking about?" Itachi repeated himself.

Jayne blushed when she realized what he said was true, "Sorry! I must have spaced out."

"Try to stay focused since we are on a mission," Itachi said. It wasn't cold but it also wasn't encouraging.

"Sorry," Jayne focused her attention straight ahead of her.

Itachi was quiet for a moment then spoke up again, "Jayne"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the cookies. Shisui told me about how you guys made them."

Jayne was a bit shocked, "It's no problem. Plus, I made a promise I would make you cookies. Do you remember that?"

"I do, thank you"

They fell quiet again. Jayne wanted to talk to him more since they were teammates. She wanted to become close with both Itachi and Shisui. Itachi just needed some more effort since he wasn't as outgoing as Shisui.

"Itachi, how is your little brother?"

"He is well, why do you ask?" Itachi glanced back at her direction.

"I was just wondering. He is so adorable, I like it when he comes to watch us train," Jayne said.

"Yeah, he enjoys it. He seems to be fond of you as well.

"I wish I had my brother," Jayne mumbled to herself.

She thought about the leather chest that is assumed to have belonged to her father. Inside she found his diary, which she has been reading an entry of each night, although she doesn't really understand much of what was written. Lots of politics and people she doesn't know. Inside this chest was also a picture frame. The picture had a man, a women who seemed to be pregnant, and a boy. The father and son both had the same color hair and eyes as Jayne, the mother had darker brown hair and brown eyes. They were all smiling and loving. The mother was holding her stomach affectionately. Jayne wondered if that was her inside the stomach.

It took the team about an hour of running to get halfway and then another hour and a half to finally arrive at the outskirts of Suna. The man they were delivering the textiles to lived in a small desert cottage. Ayato approached the door and knocked and middle aged man opened the door.

"Yes?" He looked at the leaf ninja.

"Are you Kenta Ueda? We are here to deliver the textile from Konoha," Ayato said.

"Ah yes, but where is my usual delivery man?" he asked looking them over one more time.

"He has been struck by a fever and is unable to make the journey," Ayato said. He then turned to Jayne holding out his hand, "Scroll."

Jayne handed over the scroll she kept a careful hold of the entire journey. Once he got the scroll, Ayato released the contents sealed inside. About a dozen boxes full of textiles appeared before them. Jayne was a bit surprised at the amount the scroll contained. She was sure glad they didn't have to carry the actual boxes.

"I have the trade right over here," The man said as he brought them around the corner of his house. There were about a dozen crates full of different Suna spices.

"Jayne, take this scroll and seal them into it just like you learned at the academy," Ayato instructed her. She had great chakra control so skills like sealing should be no problem for her.

"Hai Ayato-sensei," Jayne took the blank scroll and drew out the markings in order to seal. She executed the sealing flawlessly.

"Perfect. Alright we will be on our way," Ayato said.

"Wait, would you like to stay for lunch? My wife usually makes some sandwiches when our deliveryman comes," Kenta quickly asked.

Ayato was about to speak when they all heard a low growl. They looked back to see Shisui with a flushed face.

He blushed and ran his hand through his hair, "What? He said lunch and my stomach got excited."

Jayne laughed and a smile spread across Itachi's face. Ayato sighed, "Looks like we better stay for lunch."

* * *

Team 5 soon reached the halfway point on the way back from Suna to Konoha. Itachi came to a stop when he saw Ayato slow down in front of them.

"Alright time to walk. We will probably be there in an hour and a half," Ayato said.

"Can we take a break?" Jayne gasped as she bent over placing her hands on her knees.

"What, you mean you don't feel like your youth is on fire?" Ayato said sarcastically.

"No, just my lungs," Jayne pouted. "I can feel a lake nearby. I want to refill my canteen."

Ayato turned to the two Uchihas who also looked in need of a break, "You two go to the river and fill up all of our drinks."

Shisui took Jayne's canteen and Itachi grabbed Ayato's. "What direction is the lake?"

"Not that far to the right," Jayne said as she plopped onto the ground.

"Alright, be back in a few minutes," Itachi said as he and Shisui walked off in the direction Jayne pointed them.

In the forest Shisui spoke up, "This mission is pretty boring."

"It is just a C rank mission. Plus, I don't think the hokage would give us a dangerous first mission." Itachi said.

"Yeah. I guess it's better than chasing down cats like Takamasa's team had to. We at least get to leave the village."

"Yeah I was expecting something like patrolling the entrance."

Itachi and Shisui arrived at the lake and started filling up the canteens.

Shisui smirked, "Jayne always knows where the water is."

There was a sudden noise behind them rustling through the bushes. Both Itachi and Shisui stood up and got out their weapons. Three men emerged out of the bushes.

"Man, do you think they are still chasing us?" The heavier guy asked his other two companions

"We got a good head start. Make sure you are suppressing your chakra," The tallest one said.

The third and scariest looking one suddenly noticed Itachi and Shisui, "Shit look, more Konoha ninja."

"Dammit, we never have any good luck," the fat one said.

"Let's kill them quick and move on." The tall man pulled out a sword.

"By the looks of your clothing you appear to be escaped convicts from Konoha," Itachi said.

"We won't let you get any further," Shisui added.

"Look, these brats think they can handle all three of us!" The scary one laughed.

"Kill them!" The tall leader ordered.

The fat man then dashed towards the boys. He stomped his heavy foot into the ground and the Earth below them started to shoot out deadly spikes.

Itachi jumped back and then did some hand signs. _Fire bullet jutsu._ Several bullets of fire shot at the fat convict scorching him in several spots. The man was too slow to react and a couple shurikens flew into his arms.

"Fuck it hurts!" The man yelled. His arms became immobile and he couldn't put out the small flames that started on his clothes. The tall man kicked him onto the ground to extinguish the flames.

"Alright, so you beat down fatso here, but we are much better than that," The man said. He suddenly created a bunch of shadow clones, each one of them holding the same longsword. Pushing off from the ground, they leaped at the boys, about ten on each, swinging their swords at a crazy speed. The blades soon caught on fire creating an even deadlier attack.

Itachi closed his black eyes then reopened them, this time with swirling red ones. With his sharingan activated the moves of the many swordsmen seemed to slow down. He used his eyes to dodge every attack. The clones didn't relent as they kept slashing their swords. He watched the body movements of the clones, anticipating their next moves. He threw the shurikens so they would hit the exact spot the clones moved too. Five shurikens, five clones. A sudden scream filled the air and the remaining clones disappeared. Itachi looked in the direction of the scream to see the tall man crumpled on the ground. His body was shaking and he was screaming.

"Make it stop!" He yelled with his hands digging into his head.

Itachi looked over to Shisui who was standing not too far from the man with an intense look in his red eyes. _Shisui trapped him in a genjutsu._

The last remaining man watched his comrade in horror, "W-what the hell? What the fuck did you do to him?!"

The man glared up at Shisui only to make fatal eye contact with his swirling red eyes. He instantly fell to the ground meeting the same fate as his partner. Itachi watched Shisui. He's never seen him use his sharingan for genjutsu before. In fact, Itachi hasn't even used it for genjutsu yet. They've never been in a situation where he has had to use it.

Shisui finally looked over in his direction flashing him a weak smile, "I thought it would be better to bring them back to Konoha alive rather than killing them. This is the best way to subdue them."

"Shisui! Itachi!" Jayne's voice sounded through the forest as she and Ayato emerged from the nearby bushes.

"What happened?" Ayato asked as he saw the three men on the ground, two of them in an unconscious state of pain.

"We were filling up the canteens when these guys showed up and attacked us. We think they are escaped convicts," Shisui said.

Ayato stared down at the men. _Damn, that looks like a nasty genjutsu._ He looked back up to the two Uchiha boys. _Which one did this? Or did they both?_ "It appears so. We will bring them back with us."

Ayato looked back at Jayne who had gone quiet. She was standing there frozen, staring wide eyed at the men as the writhed around on the ground. He placed a hand on her shoulder. With the contact she seemed to snap out of her trance.

She quickly looked to the two boys, "Are you guys alright."

"Yeah, nothing got us," Itachi said.

"I will cuff them then release the genjutsu," Ayato said. He signed with his hands and cuffs made out of earth appeared around the convicts' wrists. He released the two under the genjutsu and they groggily woke up.

Jayne looked over at Shisui, who was unusually quiet since they arrived. He seemed to be avoiding her gaze and looked off in the other direction. She sighed at his strange behavior.

Ayato had seen the small interaction. Shisui must have seen the scared look on her face. _The kid probably feels like he is what scares her_. Ayato turned towards the three convicts who were back to their full attention, "All right you bastards, you are coming back with us to the leaf. If you try anything funny I will cut your fuckin ears off and you don't want to know what I will do when you run out of ears."

* * *

Team 5 stood in the hokage's office after returning their well-behaved prisoners to their cells. Ayato handed over the scroll with the Suna spices sealed into it and now they were just waiting to hear what the hokage has to say.

The hokage sat in his chair and read through the report Ayato had written up. "So, the delivery went well. The only trouble you ran into was with those escaped convicts and it seems you also handled that very well. Congratulations on completing your first mission. You are dismissed," The hokage said.

"Hai," team 5 said in unison.

Once they stepped outside of the hokage office Ayato turned to his students, "You have the day off tomorrow but after that we get right back to training until our next mission."

They nodded and began to go their separate ways.

"Hey, Jayne, wait," Shisui called out to her.

She quickly turned around. This is the first time he really spoke since the convict incident. "What's up?"

"I forgot to give this back to you," Shisui said holding out her canteen.

She smiled, "Oh, I completely forgot! Thank you, Shisui!"

"Well, I will see you later," Shisui started to leave to catch up with Itachi.

"Bye, have a good night," she smiled and gave him a wave.

Jayne held her canteen tight to her chest as she walked home. She sighed, "My first mission. I wonder what the next one will be like."


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm starting the first arc in this chapter

Disclaimer: I'm glad I don't own Naruto because that is too much work. I enjoy being lazy.

* * *

Jayne sat on her bed during her day off. She had her father's chest pulled out and she spent the afternoon going through different scrolls. All the ones she'd come across so far were mostly political. She sighed. She wanted to learn more about her family, where they were and who they are. This chest was her only way of figuring out anything about who she really is. She dug around the chest some more until she felt a small box. She pulled it out examining the intricate designs of snowflakes and bears. The box was locked and needed a key. She searched the chest once more desperately trying to find the key that could possible unlock the box.

"Dang it," she mumbled once she realized there was no key.

She stared at the mystery box and its snowflake design. That's when it clicked in her head. She focused on the water in a nearby glass and pulled it to her. She placed it against the lock and once the water formed to its shape, she froze it creating an ice key to replicate the missing one. She turned the key and heard a clicking sound that meant the box unlocked.

She opened the box to find a single, deep blue scroll neatly placed inside. She unraveled the scroll and started at the two words it had written on it: Clan Jutsu. Below the words was the marking for a seal. She quickly released the seal and in a "poof" several more scrolls appeared.

Jayne searched through them reading their titles out loud, "Certain kill Ice Spears… Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals … Thousand flying needles of death … Icicle swallow … Ice prison …" She stopped reading once she realized all the scrolls were jutsu to her clan's Kekkei Genkai.

Ayato explained to her that her ice release was a bloodline skill. Since there wasn't anyone else with ice release abilities to teach her how to use it, she was left unable to figure out proper jutsu for her skills. Now she had these scrolls. The scroll's contained the hand signs and other instruction to master each jutsu. She couldn't wait to start training. Jayne gathered up all the scrolls in her arms and threw them into her grey backpack. In the process of her scramble to collect everything she accidentally knocked her father's journal off the bed. She bent down to pick it up when she noticed a letter fell out of it. On the letter the name "Rindoh Kushinada" was written out. Jayne felt her heart stop. _Rindoh? Could that be father?_

Jayne picked up the letter. Inside were two different letters so she pulled out the one addressed to Rindoh and began to read:

* * *

Rindoh,

I just came across the news that the 4th Mizukage has heard about your coup with the Hozuki clan and is planning on taking action to destroy it before you are able to strike. The rumors I have heard is that the Kushinada is more of a threat so they plan to destroy your clan in order to end the coup. My current hideout is under the frozen waterfalls on Taki Island. We can hide your family until you think it's safe. I know how stubborn you are so if you decide not to, at least send your wife and Ryugo to me. Since Abigail is pregnant she won't be much help to your coup and Ryugo is only 14. This way if anything happens there will still be Kushinada blood in Kirigakure.

I will update you on your cousin, Namie Yuki. She is living well with her new husband. Nobody knows of her Kekkei Genkai. You and your family will be safe here. I also realized I never said my congratulations of Abigail's second pregnancy. I'm surprised it took you guys fourteen years to have a second child. Ryugo must be looking forward to having a new little sibling.

Please write me back with your decision. You have protected me during my own rough times. All I can do is return the favor now.

Your eternal student,

Zabuza Mamochi

* * *

Jayne stared at the paper in her hands for a long time. _What did I just read? Did I really just find out some useful information on my family?_ Jayne's thoughts raced through her head. She grabbed the photo next to her bed, the photo she assumed was her family. She looked at the man with the same hair color and eyes as her. _Dad... Rindoh..._ His arm was around the waist of a women with facial features very similar to Jayne's, despite her having darker hair and brown eyes. _Mom… Abigail…_ Her father's other hand was resting on a boy's shoulder. His features were so similar to Jayne's. _Ryuga... My brother…_ A teardrop landed on the frame of the picture. She quickly wiped her eyes. _Are they dead? Are they hiding with this Zabuza person? If so, why am I here in Konoha? Why **am** I here in Konaha, this letter clearly shows my clan comes from Kirigakure. That explains why nobody here knows anything about my family._

Jayne suddenly remembered the second letter in the envelope. She pulled it out and opened it up:

* * *

Zabuza,

Thank you for your warning. We are aware of the Mizukage's plans. The young Yagura hasn't been his usual self lately. It is as if he has become a new person. I along with the head of the Hozuki clan believe there is a third party pulling the strings. The young Mizukage was not this… this bloody when we chose him to be the kage. He originally had a good heart.

As for the issue of my clan's safety, I have had meetings with the fourth hokage and the old third hokage. They both agree with this coup and have given us their support. As much as I hated reaching out to the leaf, it is the only way I found to keep my family safe. They have agreed to take my wife and son and will protect them if anything happens to me during the coup. I never thought I would be depending on the leaf for something like this. Abigail is due to give birth any day now and as soon as she gives birth to our child I ,will send them and Ryuga to Konoha. It is not that I don't trust you, I don't trust the rest of the mist. Something very wrong is happening and the safest place for the future of the Kushinada clan is far away from the Mizukage.

As for Namie, please continue to check in on her every once in a while. I'm afraid of what might happen if her husband finds out about her Kekkei Genkai.

Sincerely,

Rindoh Kushinada

* * *

Jayne stared at this letter even longer than the last. _This letter was never sent._ _Why was this letter never sent?_ Her hands started to tremble. She quickly grabbed the two letters and ran out the house.

* * *

Ayato sat on his couch about to fall asleep for an afternoon nap when he heard a frantic knock on his door. He slowly got up with a slightly groggy head. When he opened the door he let out an annoyed sigh.

"Remind me why I thought it was a good idea to show you where I live?" Ayato said grumpily.

Jayne pushed through the door and into his house. She ran over to the table and laid out some sheets of paper.

"I guess you can come in," Ayato closed the door and walked over to see what the kid was so frantic about.

"Grass head! Read this letter I found!" Jayne shoved one of the pieces of paper into his hands.

Ayato's eyebrow twitched, "that's grass head- _sensei_ to you!"

As Ayato read the letter his eyes widened. _Shit, the stuff is really serious. An old Coup d'état? This isn't something that should be read by a kid._ Ayato thought about the name Rindoh Kushinada. _It does sound familiar_. Usually there wasn't information on Kirigakure so knowing anything about the village was rare. Konoha has been too afraid to send spies due to its bloody reputation. _If this is Jayne's father then that means she must have been a part of a very important and powerful clan in the mist._ He finished reading the letter. The last two words were the worst part of the whole letter. _That name!_

"Zabuza Momochi…" Ayato gasped. Of the few things they did hear about Kirigakure, the notorious "Demon of the Hidden Mist" was one of them.

"Do you know him? It says he was my father's student! Here read the next letter. It was written by my dad, but it was never sent," Jayne seemed excited and nervous at the same time.

Ayato quickly read over the second letter. His eyes widened at the information about the Mizukage. _They think he is being controlled. This is dangerous information. I have to show this to the hokage._

"What do you think? You are being too quiet," Jayne tugged on his shirt.

"I need to take these to the third," Ayato muttered.

"Do you think he knows where my family is? If they are even alive?" Jayne's anxiety and excitement was rising.

"Jayne, don't get your hopes so high," Ayato's voice was serious.

Jayne's face also grew serious, "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry but I highly doubt any of the members of your clan are alive. The fact that your father was never able to send this letter shows his odds are slim. Plus the Mizukage is still in power so whatever kind of coup they were planning failed. If your mother and brother did happen to escape and arrive here in Konoha then I don't understand why they wouldn't be with you right now."

Jayne clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, "Maybe they decided to drop me off here and then go to this Zabuza person's hideout so they could be closer to my father. That's why we need to go find Zabuza and-"

"Absolutely not!" Ayato cut her off raising his voice. "There is absolutely no way I will let you go to Kirigakure, especially if it's to see that demon."

"But he knew my family. He is only person I know of that knows my family! I have to go!" Jayne yelled.

"No! I said no!" Ayato yelled back. "This man, Zabuza, slaughtered over a hundred of his classmates when he was still in the academy. He has killed Konoha anbu members. He is not someone you should need to find. We can find different ways to find out about your family. The mist is completely off limits. What do you think would happen to you if they found out about you? They would kill you instantly."

Jayne went quiet. It's true she had never thought about that, nor did she know about Zabuza, but she couldn't just give up. This was her family. This was who she is. "If my father took him on as a student I'm sure he couldn't have been that bad of a person. We learned about the hidden mist graduation competition in the academy. Isn't killing what he had to do?"

"No, he didn't have to kill _everyone._ Jayne, I admire your optimism, but it will get you killed if you don't back it up with reason," Ayato said trying to calm his voice down. He could tell she was really upset, but to his defense she was being completely irrational.

"But-"

"No more. Come on, I'm going to walk you back," Ayato ushered her to the door before she could protest anymore.

The walk back was a silent one. The girl was unusually quiet. Ayato knew she was upset. But he had to be strict with her. If the Mizukage got word that she was alive, her life could be in danger. He would have to make sure to avoid all mission that dealt with the hidden mist.

Once they arrived at the orphanage Jayne turned to him, "Can I have my letter's back?"

"Let me look at them some more and I promise I will find something to help you out. We can still figure something out without going to the mist. Okay, Jayne?" Ayato tried to give her a reassuring smile.

Jayne had an unusually expressionless face, "Okay."

"Alright, I will see you tomorrow for training," Ayato placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," she said with the same emotionless expression.

Jayne quickly turned and ran up to her room. She flung the door open and slammed it shut before jumping on her bed and burying her face in her pillow.

"Hey Jayne, are you okay?" A voice called out from the other side of the room.

Jayne groaned. _Ugh, not now!_ "Leave me alone, Walrus!"

"Oh, okay. Well let me know if you need anything," the walrus got back to whatever she was doing at her side of the room.

 _I don't need you to do anything for me. I don't need anyone. All I have is myself. Even if it is dangerous I have to do this. I'll do it alone if I have to._

* * *

A/N: So this is the start of the first arc in Snowflake. I hope you like it. I have it all planned out in my head. Updates might be slow since I have a big essay coming up. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The plan

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto I wouldn't be writing this fanfic.

* * *

After the training session was over, Jayne quickly grabbed her backpack and took off without saying goodbye to her teammates. She quickly made her way back towards the village.

"Hey, Jayne, wait up!" she heard Shisui's voice call from behind her. She slowed her pace so he could catch up but kept walking. When he got next to her he didn't say anything right away.

She decided to speak up first, "Do you need something, Shisui?"

"Um, well," he nervously scratched the back of his head. "I was just wondering if you were alright. You were acting a bit strange today."

"Strange?" Jayne raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, you don't seem as happy as usual. Did something happen?" He asked.

Jayne did her best to give him a smile, "I'm fine. I just didn't get much sleep last night so I'm a bit tired."

"Oh okay," he didn't seem very convinced. Jayne was a bad liar. "Can I walk you home?"

"Actually, I am going to the library," Jayne said. This was the truth.

"Well, then I will walk you there."

"But the Uchiha compound is the other direction."

"It's fine, I'm not doing anything right now."

They walked in an unusual and awkward silence. Shisui was afraid of saying the wrong thing and making her upset. Jayne wasn't in a good mood and was afraid of worrying Shisui even more than he already was. Silence seemed to be the best option for them both

When they finally arrived at the library she turned to Shisui and gave him a reassuring smile, "thank you for walking me here, I will see you tomorrow."

"No problem. I will see you tomorrow," not really sure what to do next he held up his fist towards her.

Jayne blushed. _Does he want me to give him a fist bump? I thought only guys did that with each other._ She hesitantly lifted her fist to meet his. After making this awkward contact she quickly rushed inside the library to get on with her plan.

Jayne walked up to the information desk, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find maps of the world and other countries?" She had never actually been to the library before and had no idea where the map section was. The person at the desk pointed to a spot on the map of the library without even looking up from their book. "Thank you," Jayne said and ran upstairs to the location the maps were supposed to be.

She ran her fingers along the large scrolls until she found the ones she wanted. She pulled out a large world map, a map of the Land of Fire, and a map of the Land of Water islands. She plopped down with all three at a nearby table. She unrolled the world map and studied it closely. The Land of Fire was right in the middle of the map and the Land of Water was to its right. She stared at the big distance between Konoha and Kirigakure. She had learned geography in the Academy but she had no idea how to actually get to the hidden mist or even Taki Island, which she hadn't even heard of. She also never thought about how big of a distance it actually was between the two countries. _Dang it, this is going to take a long time._ She rubbed her temples to calm her frustration.

"Jayne," she heard someone standing nearby say her name. She looked up to see a pair of pale eyes staring back at her.

"Soryu?" Jayne looked up at the Hyūga boy.

"What are you doing here at the library studying maps?" Soryu asked.

"Um, Ayato-sensei is making us study the geography of different countries and hidden villages so when we have missions, one of us will have a pretty good idea of where we are going," Jayne lied.

"That's a pretty good idea," Soryu said. He looked down at her maps, "You are studying Kirigakure?"

"Yeah, and the islands around it," Jayne said.

Soryu looked down at her other maps. He seemed very interested. He has always been the smartest one in their class. He was quite the genius that rivalled even the Nara clan.

"Would you like to study with me?" Jayne asked. If she had someone like Soryu helping her figure these maps out and the best possible route, she will get this done in half the time she thought she would.

"Hm, I don't see why not. I already finished what I was working on," He took a seat next to her at the table.

Jayne pulled out her notebook so she could copy down the maps and other directions. "So I was thinking this trail is a major road that leads all the way to the eastern docks. If my team were to take this road all the way to the docks we would be pretty set, right?"

Soryu studied the road she was talking about and traced it with his long fingers. Jayne noticed he seemed much longer than both Shisui and Itachi. Soryu was already taller than the other boys their age. He also wore his hair differently from the typical long hairstyle the males of his clan have. He had short black hair with bangs that slightly fell over his eyes.

"Seems right. That'd be the quickest and most direct, but this trail here is more hidden," He traced his fingers along a trail not that far off from the main road. "I guess it depends on the mission."

"So I exit the East gate, follow that trail until it enters the main road, then I will eventually arrive at the docks," Jayne wrote down the steps.

"Mmhmm," Soryu leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. Despite being a genius, he comes off as a little aloof and spacey. You can often find him in strange spots around Konoha completely spaced out, staring off into his own world.

"Do you know anything about the docks? Like which boats are best to take and prices?" Jayne asked.

"hm, no idea. Probably something you can figure out when you get there," Soryu was still staring at the ceiling.

"It probably won't be very hard to figure out. Hey, what do you know of Taki Island?" Jayne asked.

"Well it's right here on the map. Usually pretty snowy," Soryu returned his attention to the map. It was a small island to the south of Kirigakure.

"Ugh, I wonder how long that will take," Jayne grumbled.

"Why do you need to know about Taki Island?" Soryu asked.

"Oh, um, I read a book and the main character was from there," Jayne mumbled out a lie. Soryu stared at her and his eyes narrowed a bit. _Crap, he doesn't believe me._

"What book?" He questioned.

"I think it was called…" Jayne glance at the clock, "Time," She glanced again at a nearby chair, "chair. It was called 'Time Chair.'" _That's so stupid! You're a horrible liar, Jayne!_

"What was it about?"

"Well the main character found this hidden chair that could teleport people through time… on Taki Island," She tried to sound more confident. _You are just digging yourself a deeper hole, Jayne._

Soryu raised an unimpressed eyebrow, "hm"

"I never said it was a good book! The land of Water islands just reminded me of it," Jayne pouted. Soryu's stare was unrelenting. "Stop staring at me like that! I'm never going to tell you about books again, you… you… you pale-eyed robot!" Jayne spat out an insult.

The corners of Soryu's mouth turned into a smile, "I am honored to receive one of your notorious insults."

Jayne pouted some more and turned away. She looked at the map again this times for the frozen waterfalls. "I hear the frozen waterfalls are beautiful. If I'm ever in the area I would love to go see them."

Soryu looked at the map, "It's probably about a day of walking to get to the town nearest the waterfalls."

"It looks like there is a big road here and then it branches off and narrows a bit. Once you get to the town it looks like it would take an hour or so to get to the falls themselves."

"Yeah, that seems about right."

She started to roll up the scrolls, "thanks for helping me study these maps."

"No problem. I might have to go check out this 'Time Chair' book," he said teasingly.

Jayne shot him one last glare before leaving the library. She looked down at the list in her notepad, "Now I just need to get food and I will be all set." She walked to a store that had lots of non-perishable items she knew ninjas went to for their missions.

"Jayne! Welcome to the Tanemura market, what brings you here today?" a cheery voice called out to her. Jayne looked up to see her friend and classmate, Momoka Tanemura.

"Momo! I've just come to get some food. I plan on camping out at the river for the next week so I need non-perishable items," Jayne said. _Momo will be much easier to trick than Soryu_.

"The best tasting stuff is over here!" Momo grabbed Jayne's arm and dragged her to another part of the store. As she whipped around the store her braided ponytail flung back and forth.

Jayne filled her bag with several different items and then followed Momo to purchase them.

"Nanami told me you go camping often. What do you like about it?" Momo asked while figuring out the total price of the food.

"I just really enjoy being near the river," Jayne said and handed over the money for her purchase.

"Well I hope you have fun!" Momo said and waved her goodbye.

Jayne walked back to the orphanage checking over her list of things to do. "I should be done with all my preparations. Now I just have to figure out how to sneak out of here."

* * *

The next day, Jayne laid in her bed waiting for the right moment to trick Nanami and sneak away.

"Jayne, are you alright? Isn't it almost time for your team's training?" Nanami looked over at Jayne hiding under her covers.

Jayne pulled the covers off over her head, "I have a fever. Do you think you could go let my team know I won't be able to make it and that I will see them after the weekend break?"

Nanami smiled, "Of course! I will go do it now!" She ran out of the room. The girl was so desperate to impress Jayne she would do anything for her. It annoyed Jayne a bit, she wished Nanami would be more independent, but it also worked in her favor this time.

Jayne quickly got out of bed and threw on her clothes. She grabbed her backpack that had food, her father's journal, and the scroll with all the jutsu sealed into it. She shoved her winter coat into the backpack then ran out of the orphanage. Now was the time to finally find out what happened to her family.

* * *

A/N: After writing this chapter I realized I was pretty bored writing it and not very inspired. Sorry about that, it's pretty bad. In this chapter you get to see more of my OCs Soryu and Momoka. I thought I would just throw them in since they are a part of this generation's Konoha 12 and you will see more of them throughout the story. Since this was the boring chapter the rest will be much better. I promise.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A/N: So I don't have any scheduled posting times. I'm finally returning home in a couple days after 3 1/2 months in Europe. Things might be a bit slow for me to post. Thanks to those who have reviewed. I appreciate it! Keep letting me know what you think!

Disclaimer: Every time I have to write that I don't own Naruto, a little part of me dies

* * *

Ayato stood at the training grounds with Shisui and Itachi. They were supposed to start training ten minutes ago and there was still no sign of Jayne. He felt the presence of someone running towards them. _That must be her._

"Ayato-sensei!" Jaynes roommate, Nanami, was the one to approach them.

"Nanami? What are you doing here? Where is Jayne," Ayato asked.

"Jayne is sick in bed with a fever. She asked me to tell you guys she won't be able to make it and will see you guys at your next training session after the weekend," Nanami said readjusting her large glasses.

"Thank you, Nanami, go ahead and go on to your own training," Ayato dismissed her.

 _A fever?_ Ayato furrowed his eyebrows. _Is she really sick or just upset about what happened a couple days ago? She still seemed pretty upset during training yesterday._

"Jayne didn't seem to be feeling well yesterday," Itachi said.

"When I asked her she said she didn't get very good sleep," Shisui added.

 _So they noticed too._ "Well, we will just have to continue without her for today," Ayato said.

* * *

Ayato made his way to the hokage's office one training was over. He knocked on the door waiting for a response.

"Enter," The Hokage's voice called from the other side of the door.

"Hokage-sama, do you have time to discuss something important regarding one of my students?" Ayato asked as he entered the room.

"Are the Uchihas giving you any trouble?" the Hokage asked, referring more to the boys' parents.

"No, this is about Jayne Kushinada," Ayato said.

The Hokage was silent for a moment, "She is an orphaned child so I'm afraid I don't know much about her. I'll see what I can do to help though."

"You know more than you're letting on," Ayato handed the Hokage the letter written by Rindoh Kushinada. "She showed these to me a couple days ago."

The Hokage grabbed the letters and quickly read over them. The expression on his face was hard to read. He set the paper down on his desk. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Just explain what happened," Ayato sat down in the chair across from the Hokage's desk.

He sighed, "You and I both know that the current Mizukage hasn't been leading Kirigakure in a good direction. Ever since Yagura became a jinchuriki and the hokage, he started behaving differently. As you've learned from the letter, some of the noble clans of Kirigakure suspected there was something wrong."

Ayato cut in, "Noble clan? I know Kiri has a caste system, but just how high up were they?"

"The Kushinada is to Kirigakure what the Hyūga is to Konoha. They are a very powerful clan with an incredible Kekkei Genkai. They have the Ice release ability, which you've seen through Jayne I'm sure. Other than some of the war legends from their clan, not much is known to those of us outside of Kirigakure. They prefer to keep to themselves inside the Land of Water, just like the rest of the people. I only know so much because Rindoh Kushinada reached out to Minato and I."

"The coup?"

"He approached us a couple months before it happened. He wanted to know if Konoha would support Kirigakure if they got rid of the current Mizukage. He was not very happy about the new "bloody mist" that was taking over. Minato and I were also concerned about what was to come from Kirigakure so we agreed to support him in small, discreet ways. We didn't want to get Konoha involved but we also knew that whatever storm is brewing over there will one day hit Konoha. Until the coup was a success we would stay out and if it wasn't then we agreed to hide Rindoh's wife and children."

"If you agreed to protect Jayne's mother and brother then where are they?" Ayato asked.

The Hokage frowned, "The plan was to send them after Jayne's birth. Unfortunately the Mizukage had heard about the coup from some spies. They also planned to take action on the day of Jayne's birth. They knew the main Kushinada household would be in a bit of disorder that day so they had troops staked out. When the time was right they attacked and killed all the members of the clan."

Ayato sighed in frustration. Hearing about the downfall of one of his student's clan is not something he enjoyed. "How did Jayne end up here then?"

"That is something we still haven't been able to completely figure out. At some time during the massacre her brother escaped with the newborn and fled towards Konoha. He had been seriously injured, yet somehow made it all the way here. We aren't sure how he not only kept himself alive with the injuries he received, but how he also kept his newborn sister alive. It is quite the miracle. If the coup succeeded it was Ryuga they would have placed as the new hokage."

"So what happened to the brother?"

"When he finally arrived in Konoha he was at his end. He got her into the city and then collapsed. Our medics did everything they could but they lost him within an hour of arriving. He woke up briefly before his final breathe. I remember like it was yesterday. I hadn't seen such a heart wrenching scene in a long time. He asked to hold his baby sister. When we asked him what her name was he said she didn't have one yet. Our medic asked what he wanted to name her…" The hokage paused. "It was the last thing he ever said"

Ayato slammed his fist into the desk, "Fuck! This is so messed up. How can someone just slaughter an entire clan? Children and all?"

The hokage was silent.

"Why does Jayne still have her last name? What if word got back to Kirigakure that there was a Kushinada in Konoha?" Ayato was now on his feet.

"Calm down, Ayato. If you look at her birth records her name is Jayne Hayate. Her father was a shinobi who died on duty and her mother died during childbirth. When Ryuga Kushinada brought her here he was also carrying a chest that we allowed Jayne to keep in her possession. Jayne was told it belonged to her father, we apparently didn't realize what kind of contents were in it. We assumed family heirlooms. She discovered the Kushinada name engraved on the chest and made the connection. She realized her background was a lie from a very early age. Stubborn as she is, she refused to be called Hayate and would only accept Kushinada. We couldn't sway her so a deal was made that nobody would argue with her calling herself Jayne Kushinda as long as she always used Hayate on any official documents."

"So there is no way anyone outside of Konoha would be able to figure out her last name is Kushinada unless she told them?" Ayato asked.

"Correct. Most people in Konoha also shouldn't know anything about the Kushinada clan. If they do, they might just think she has the same last name but has no blood relation. It is believed that all members have been killed and that even though Ryuga escaped, he never made it out of Kirigakure due to his injuries. Everyone believes the baby died during the massacre. Nobody has even thought to search for her and I'm sure it will stay that way. Don't worry too much for the child. I already know not to send her on any missions to the Land of Water."

Ayato nodded. He knew she was safe. He would always be there to protect her and so will her teammates. _She will be safe as long as she is here with us in Konoha_.

* * *

*The next morning*

Jayne stepped onto the Eastern docks of the Land of Fire. Turns out Ayato-sensei's conditioning was pretty helpful, she was able to run a pretty long distance. It helped cut off several hours of walking. Now she had to figure out what boat would take her to Taki Island. She looked around the dock with no idea where to start looking. She spotted a women not too far away leaning against a stack of crates. The women looked a bit intimidating, but Jayne felt more comfortable approaching another girl.

"Excuse me, ma'am, do you know where I can find a ship to Taki Island?" Jayne asked.

The women looked down at her, "What's a kid like you doing looking for a boat to Taki Island?"

"I'm visiting family," she lied.

The women narrowed her eyes, "Where are your parents? Shouldn't you be with them?"

"They are already at Taki Island. I got held back because of a mission," Jayne pointed up to her forehead protector.

"Your parents left without you?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Not all kids have great relationships with their parents," Jayne rolled her eyes hoping the lady would buy her lie.

The women smirked, "Tell me about it, my parents would have done the same thing. What's your name kid?"

"Abigail Hayate," Jayne said. She used her mother's first name and the last name Konoha gave her at the orphanage.

"Well Abigail, you're in luck. I know of a ship heading that way in a few hours," the women said.

"Do you think they will give me a ride?" Jayne asked excitedly. _Maybe this would be easier than I thought_.

"No."

Jayne's face fell. _Never mind._

"But, they will let me on. If I say you are my little sister, they may let you on with me," the women gave a confident smile.

"Would you really do that?" Jayne felt a new hope rise in her chest.

"No."

Jayne almost fell over. _Why is she doing this to me?_

The women started laughing, "Just kidding, I wanted to see your reaction."

Jayne's eyebrow twitched, "That's not funny! I really need to get to Taki Island."

She started laughing some more, "Alright, alright! Stop looking so serious. The ship is on the Southern side of the dock. Follow me. My name is Kin, by the way."

Jayne followed the Kin as she made her way through the crowd of the docks. Luckily, Kin was pretty tall so Jayne could see her head above most. Jayne noticed the men checking Kin out in her short skirt that made her legs seem even longer than they already were. Jayne had to quicken her pace to keep up with the women's confident walk through the docks.

"Abigail, when we get there, let me do all the talking," Kin glanced back at her. Jayne gave her a nod. "Oh, and take this off," she pointed to Jayne's forehead protector. "Put it in your bag for now." Jayne did just that.

The ship they approached was a medium size with about eight crewman running around getting it prepared to sail later. Kin approached a man, who was probably the ship's captain, who stepped forward to greet her.

"We don't have anything for you to take," the man said with a stern voice.

Kin batted her eyelashes, "What do you mean? I haven't come here to take anything. I just need to catch a ride with my little sis, here." Kin wrapped her arm around Jayne's neck putting her in a headlock.

The man huffed, "Training her into the family 'business?'"

"Of course, how can I let there only be _one_ female pirate? Don't worry, like I said, I'm not here to steal from you. Since my ship is under repair and half my crew in jail, I need to find a way to get her used to the open seas. What's more of a challenge than the waters around Taki Island? You boys are much better at navigating those waters than I am so I thought she should learn from the best," Kin flashed him a smile.

"And what would be in it for us?" The man crossed his arms.

"You mean you want more than just the gift of our presence?" Kin teased.

He was not amused.

Kin sighed, "The next time we meet in the waters, I will feel more inclined to help you rather than sink you."

The man scowled, "If I let you on, you have to work for your stay and meals."

"Deal!" Kin grabbed his hand to shake it.

"Now go make yourselves useful," the man pointed in the direction of the ship.

"Yessir!" Kin gave him a playful wink and dragged Jayne onto the ship.

* * *

After a long first day of sailing Jayne collapsed into her hammock next to Kin's. They were placed in a small room away from the men. Ship work was hard and frustrating. Every time she would mop down a part of the deck, ocean water would splash on board ruining all her hard work.

Kin entered their small room and climbed into her own hammock.

"Abby, you did a pretty good job helping the cook with dinner," Kin said. She started calling Jayne Abby since Abigail is "too formal" for sisters. "The last cook I had on my ship wasn't too great."

"So you are some kind of pirate captain?" Jayne asked already kind of knowing the answer.

"Yup. Like I told that guy earlier, my ship is getting repaired. We encountered some bastards in lightning country that almost sank my ship. I'm glad you came around though. I was starting to get bored and looking forward to a little adventure," she said swinging in her hammock.

"You mentioned the waters around Taki were rough?" Jayne recalled the earlier conversation.

"Very. There are tons of Icebergs and the water is super choppy. Not a very good combination if ya ask me. You don't get sea sick do you?"

"Well, I haven't gotten sick yet."

"Atta girl," she laughed. "Now do you want to tell me what you are really doing travelling to Taki Island?"

Jayne felt the color drain from her face, "What do you mean? I told you already."

"You told me something, just not the truth. You are a pretty bad liar you know. You look down at the ground and your ears turn red. Two pretty obvious giveaways. You don't have to lie anymore now that you are on the boat. It's not like I will throw you overboard."

"I… I have to find someone and the last I heard about them is that they were at Taki Island," Jayne said. Kin deserved to know a little bit since she is helping her out.

"Who?"

"His name is Zabuza Mamochi," Jayne said.

Kin shot up, "I take it back, I will throw you overboard. What the hell are you doing seeking out Zabuza?"

Jayne frowned. Ayato had a similar negative reaction. It doesn't really boost her confidence on her journey. "He knew my father. Zabuza is the only person that will be able to tell me what he was like. Or anything else about my family."

Kin was silent for a moment, "He is a dangerous man."

"That's what my sensei said," Jayne sighed.

"I will go with you then," Kin said. "If your sensei thought this was a bad idea then I'm guessing he doesn't know you are doing this. I'll take care of you for 'em"

"I don't need to be taken care of. I am a shinobi and I'm able to protect myself," Jayne said stubbornly.

Kin chuckled, "Alright Miss shinobi, then that means _you_ have to protect _me_ from Zabuza. It will be your payment to me for getting you there. And I really don't want to get cut by that giant ass sword of his I've heard so much about."

"Deal," Jayne said then rolled over in her hammock for bed.

Her hammock swayed with the rocking of the ship. She furrowed her eyebrows. _Am I really making the right decision? Well it's too late to turn back. If this Zabuza person really did care about my father, he wouldn't attack me would he? I just have to trust that my dad's former student won't cut me with his "giant ass sword."_


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Do you own Naruto? Because I don't.

* * *

It was finally Monday morning and Team 5 was about to start training after the weekend break. Ayato sighed, today was the day he will finally see Jayne again after his talk with the hokage. He will pull her aside after the training session and tell her everything he has learned.

Shisui and Itachi showed up right on time. There was still no sign of Jayne. Ayato started to get nervous with a mixture of anger. _She shouldn't still be moping around. I doubt she still has a fever._

"Have either of you seen Jayne at all this weekend?" Ayato asked.

Itachi shook his head and Shisui said no.

"Let's go get her," Ayato immediately started walking towards the orphanage. _I swear, if she is in bed!_

"Hold on, we are going to her house?" Shisui asked following him towards the village.

"Yeah, the orphanage."

Itachi and Shisui both suddenly stopped. Ayato looked back to see why.

"Jayne's an orphan?" Itachi asked a bit shocked.

"Wait, you didn't know that?" it was Ayato's turn to be shocked.

Shisui face palmed, "Oh my God that makes so much sense. She's never once talked about her family. It also explains why she knows Nanami snores. Nanami is an orphan too."

"Nanami is her roommate," Ayato says.

This time Itachi was the one to face palm, "I feel so dumb. That explains their strange relationship."

"Alright, let's keep going," Ayato said and continued to lead the boys to the orphanage. When they finally arrived the old lady who owned the place greeted them.

"Ah, Ayato, what brings you here today?" she asked.

"Is Jayne here?"

"Nanami said she was out camping," the old lady smiled.

Ayato growled, _I should've known._ "Is Nanami here then?"

"Yes let me go get her," she disappeared into the orphanage.

"How did we not know this?" Shisui asked, still stuck on the fact that they didn't realize she was an orphan.

"I don't think anyone else does besides Nanami. Maybe Yuna and Hana since they are her closest friends," Itachi said.

Nanami appeared from inside the building.

"Shisui and Itachi too? What do you guys need me for?" she blushed at having so many cute boys in her presence.

"Did Jayne say where she was camping?" Ayato asked.

"No, I haven't seen her since the morning she had the fever. I heard from my teammate, Momoka, about the camping," Nanami said.

"Where can we find this Momoka girl?" Ayato asked.

"The Tanemura shop!" Shisui answered.

"Alright, lead the way," Ayato said, this time Shisui was the one leading the team through the village. Ayato never had a need to go to the Tanemura market since Rina always packed meals for their teams on missions. Even after they became Jonin and were no longer a team, Rina would make him some packed food to take on his missions.

The Tanemura market wasn't too far away from the orphanage so they got there pretty quick. When they arrived the tan skinned Tanemura boy was there.

"Junpei, is Momoka here?" Shisui asked.

"No, my sister isn't working today. What do you need her for?" Junpei asked.

"Have you seen or heard about where Jayne is?" Itachi asked.

"No, I would have remembered if I saw her. But I do remember Soryu mentioning at our last training session that he studied some maps with her a couple days ago," Junpei seemed deep in thought trying to remember. While his teammate, Soryu, was the smartest in the class, the same could not be said for Junpei. They help balance each other out.

"What the hell was she doing studying maps?" Ayato murmured.

Junpei looked confused, "Soryu told us that your team was studying different parts of the world so you'd be more knowledgeable for missions."

Ayato started to get a bad feeling, "Where can we find Soryu?"

"Hyūga compound," this time Itachi answered.

"This feels like a wild goose chase," Shisui sighed.

"It might be," Ayato said more to himself than the others.

The Hyūga complex was on the other side of town. Ayato picked up the pace. This bad feeling inside was growing larger and larger every second. At the gates of the compound stood a Hyūga guard. If you wanted to contact anyone inside the house you had to talk to him first.

"Is Soryu Hyūga in?" Ayato asked.

"I will retrieve him," the Hyūga guard said.

They waited a few anxious minutes until Soryu walked through the gate. Ayato noticed the only thing Hyūga about the kid were his eyes.

"What do you guys need?" Soryu asked sleepily like he just woke up.

"We heard from Junpei Tanemura you studied some maps with Jayne. Do you remember what she was studying?" Ayato asked.

"The Land of Water."

Ayato rubbed his temples, _Shit. Shit. Shit._ "Taki Island?"

Soryu seemed a bit confused, "Yeah."

"GOD DAMMIT!" Ayato flung his fists into the nearby wall, smashing a large hole into it. The two Uchihas and the two Hyūgas stared wide eyed in shock at his reaction.

"Ayato-sensei?" Shisui was a bit timid to call out to him.

"We need to get to the Hokage," Ayato said starting to leave. He first turned back to the two Hyūga staring at the whole he punched into their compound, "just send me the bill."

* * *

"Abby, wake up," Kin shook Jayne's hammock. "We are arriving in a few hours."

Jayne stretched out her stiff arms, "What day is it?"

"Monday. Why?" Kin asked.

"Just trying to keep track of the days," Jayne said.

It wasn't a lie, but Monday did mean something. Monday was when her team would get together for training and they would realize she was gone. What they would do once they figured it out is more what she worried about. _Would they come after me? Or maybe they will let me be? No I doubt that. Ayato-sensei will be so angry he'll punch a hole in a wall._

"Are you thinking about home?" Kin asked.

"How did you know?" Jayne asked.

"I can read you like a book. You wear your emotions clearly on your face. Which is why I'm helping you. You won't find anyone better than a pirate to teach you how to lie," Kin said confidently. "I can also give you a few tips on seduction too. Female ninja have to be good at that kind of stuff," Kin winked.

"Er, no thanks," Jayne blushed as she thought back to the few "girls only" classes she had to go through at the academy.

"That makes me wonder, do you have any boys back home?" Kin teased.

"I have my teammates and sensei," Jayne said.

"That's not what I mean. I mean do you have any boyfriends?" Kin asked.

"No! And why did you make boyfriend plural?" Jayne blushed deeper at the topic of her non-existent love life.

Kin laughed, "Fine, no boyfriends, but do you have any crushes?"

Jayne's face was as red as a tomato, "No!"

"You lie," Kin narrowed he eyes as she smirked. "You are a thirteen year old girl. If you don't have at least three crushes then you're not doing it right."

"I don't have to have three!" Jayne snapped.

"So two?" Kin asked.

Jayne paused for a moment then said, "No."

"Yes you do, you paused. Who are they?"

"Why does it matter? It's not like you will ever meet them!" Jayne pouted.

"What makes you think I won't? Maybe I will stalk you back to your village."

"That gives me more of a reason not to tell you their names! You will stalk them too!"

"You do realize you've admitted twice now that you have a couple crushes? Now you have to tell me their names."

Jayne was saved by a knock on the door, "Ladies, get on the deck and start working. We need to prepare to land in an hour and a half. The waters are going to start getting rough from here." At these words Jayne quickly ran out the door and onto the deck.

She looked out across the ocean and saw the choppy water. Icebergs peaked out above the ocean only showing a fraction of their true size. The crew was scrambling around and pulling different ropes to steady the ship for the huge wave that was about to crash into it. Jayne grabbed onto a nearby beam and braced herself. The wave crashed into the boat making it shake violently through the water. Water splashed from the ocean and onto the boat creating puddles all the way to Jayne's feet.

Jayne looked around urgently trying to figure out a way to help. She wasn't strong enough to help pull the rope. There had to be something else she could do. She looked down at the water that was rising on the deck. She thought about all her training by the lake. She formed a hand sign as she focused on both the chakra in the water and her own, merging them together as one. Once she felt the water in sync with her movements she flung it off the deck. The water floated up off the deck and followed her hands towards the sea. Once the water was back in its place she tried to force it further away from the boat to keep more waves from crashing into it.

"Wow, Abby, that's incredible!" Kin came up behind her.

"I don't have enough stamina to do this much longer. It takes up a lot of chakra to control this much water," Jayne said. She was already starting to feel tired. She's never tried to control this much water before.

"It's okay. These men travel through these waters all the time. This isn't anything they aren't used to," Kin placed her hand on Jayne's shoulder to say it was okay for her to stop.

Jayne released her control from the waves a let out a deep breathe, "I need to train more."

"You can keep getting rid of the water that comes on board if you want. I just don't want you to ware yourself out. Training in moderation," Kin smiled.

Jayne nodded. That was a good idea. She made it her task to get rid of the water that came onto the boat. She would wait until a good amount of water came on then she would work to fling it back into the ocean. What was supposed to be an hour felt like days as the waves constantly crashed against the boat. The men were yelling orders and grunting as they used all their strength to keep the ship moving. Once they broke through the choppy water it became quiet again. The Ocean once again had its smooth sound and the men could finally relax. Jayne moved to the edge of the boat and looked out across the ocean. She could see the snow covered land ahead. _I finally made it, I am at Taki Island. Now I just need to find the frozen waterfalls._

* * *

Shisui and Itachi followed Ayato as he stormed into the Hokage's office. Shisui had never seen him so angry. Was it even okay to just storm into the Hokage's office like that?

"Ayato, you ass, you can't just storm in here whenever you want," Hiro Sarutobi stood next to where his father was sitting. He glared at Ayato.

"Stay out of it!" Ayato snapped. Shisui had learned by now that Hiro and Ayato hated each other with a passion.

"You're teaching your student's your bad habits. How will we ever have peace if there are three more of you terrorizing the town?" Hiro smirked.

This made Shisui angry, "Ayato-sensei is a great sensei! We wouldn't be here if it weren't for an emergency!"

The Hokage sighed as he did every time he heard Hiro and Ayato argue, "What is your emergency?"

"Jayne ran away. She's gone. I think she has gone to Taki Island in search of Zabuza," Ayato said.

Shisui felt the room turn deadly serious. He knew something was up with Jayne but he didn't realize it was this bad. She was not just gone from Konoha, but the country. _Why did she run away? Who is Zabuza? Why does she need to find him? Why Taki Island? What even is Taki Island?_ Shisui's head was swarmed with questions. He glanced over to Itachi who seemed just as confused.

"Ayato, why in the world is one of your students seeking out the demon of the Mist?" Hiro seemed to be the most confused person in the room.

"Are you absolutely positive?" the Hokage asked.

"Yes," Ayato clenched his fists. "I've come to ask you if you would allow my team to go and retrieve her."

The Hokage was silent. He seemed too deep in thought. Now it was Shisui who was clenching his fists. _Why isn't he saying anything? Why is it taking him so long? Is he not going to let us go after Jayne?_

The Hokage finally spoke up, "Ayato, do you think if she were to find Zabuza, she might be happier there?" Everyone in the room stared wide-eyed at the hokage. He continued, "She will be in her own element, where she is truly from. If Zabuza really did have such a close relationship to her father, do you think he would harm her? He might take her in to protect her for her father."

"Zabuza is a murderer! Jayne is not safe with him even if he says he will protect her. He will probably use her as some kind of tool for his schemes and she won't even realize it. With Jayne so eager to learn about her family, he can easily manipulate her." Ayato yelled.

The Hokage was still silent. Shisui's knuckles were turning white in his fists. _I have to say something._

Shisui knelt in front of the hokage, "Hokage-sama, please let us go after Jayne. I don't know all that is going right now, but I do know that Jayne belongs here with us."

Shisui felt Itachi move to kneel besides him, "Jayne is our teammate and we will do all that we can to get her back."

The Hokage stared down at the two Uchiha boys kneeling before him. Their sensei seemed a bit touched at their actions and the Hokage felt it too. How could he say no? The bond between teammates is one of the most important things to a Konoha ninja.

The Hokage spoke up, "Alright. I'm giving you the mission to go and retrieve Jayne. Do it quickly and bring her back safe." He then turned to Ayato, "Use discretion when searching for her. I don't think Zabuza would harm her if he finds out she is a Kushinada, but he is one of few. If the wrong person finds out about her, her life will be in danger."

"I know. We will get her and be back without any problems," Ayato said. "It will be done as quickly as possible."

"Alright, you are dismissed. Leave in an hour." The hokage said.

"Hai," Team 5 said in unison.

"Let's go get ready." Ayato said and led them out of the building. "You boys will want to pack some warm clothes for when we get to Taki Island and -"

"Excuse me, Ayato-sensei," Soryu was standing outside waiting for them.

"Hyūga, if it's about the hole in the wall just send me the bill and I will pay for it once I get back," Ayato said, seeming to be in a hurry.

"That's not what I am here for. Jayne is gone right? By your reaction I was able to figure out that much. I also know that where ever she has run off to, I helped her find. When we studied the maps we figured out routes to the docks and how to get to the frozen waterfalls of Taki Island. I know exactly what routes she will take. I feel guilty about being a part of her disappearance so I would like to come and help you find her," Soryu seemed determined.

"You don't need to do that. You didn't know what she was doing," Ayato said.

"But I want to. My Byakugan can also help when we are looking for her."

Ayato sighed. Its true Soryu would be a big help in looking for Jayne, but he couldn't just take away the kid from his team. "Who is your sensei?" he asked.

"Nozomu Nikaido."

Ayato started laughing, "Haha, Nozomu. That won't be a problem then. He will definitely let you come, but you do have to ask permission first. We will meet at the gate in an hour. Don't be late."

"Hai," Soryu bowed then took off to get ready.

Shisui pouted, "Why does Soryu have to come? I mean, he could just draw out her route on a map."

"You don't want Soryu to come?" Ayato raised an eyebrow.

"Not really," Shisui crossed his arms.

Itachi sighed, "Soryu is Shisui's love rival. We saw him give Jayne a flower once."

"Shut up, Itachi!" Shisui grabbed his arm and started pulling him away, "See you in an hour." The boys were quickly out of sight.

Ayato shook his head, _Kids…_

* * *

A/N: I hope you are enjoying the arc so far! If there is any confusion about anything just ask and I will do my best to answer without spoiling anything. Zabuza may or may not appear in the next chapter. But it will be soon!


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, just my own.

* * *

Kin trudged her legs through the snow covered path. "How much further?" She whined.

"We have been walking most of the day so I'm sure it's not that much longer. Do you need a break?" Jayne asked with concern in her voice.

"No, if we stop we'll start to get cold," Kin said. She actually didn't want to stop because she didn't want to get showed up by a kid. Of course the kid was a ninja and had incredible stamina, but it still hurt her pride.

"Look, there is someone up the road with a cart. We can ask them how much further to the closest village," Jayne pointed up ahead to a cart that was stopped at the side of the road.

As they approached they saw a man trying to get his wheel unstuck from a dip in the ground. He was trying to lift the wagon out but was having no luck.

"Hey, do you need help?" Jayne asked.

The man suddenly spun around in fright like he hadn't noticed them approaching. When he saw it was just the two females he let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, no I just hit a little rut. I will get it out in no time."

"Let us help you. With all of our combined strength it should be much easier to lift," Jayne smiled. Kin let out a small groan. Lifting carts is the last thing she wanted to do in her exhausted state, but once again her pride kicked in.

"Well, if you don't mind, would you two ladies pick up that end?" He instructed them to their positions.

With the combined strength of the three of them they lifted it out of the rut and got it back on to flat surface. The ox that pulled his carriage was happy to finally be free to move around again.

"See, nothing a little teamwork can't fix," Jayne dusted the snow off her hands.

"Why thank you ladies, you really helped me out. What are you doing out here anyways?"

"We are making are way to the village closest to the frozen waterfalls," Kin spoke up. Then she added, "Do you happen to know how close we are?"

"Ah yes, I am headed that way too. It is only about twenty more minutes from here. Why don't you come with me and when we get there I will have my wife get you two a nice hot cup of cocoa to warm you up," the man said.

Kin was about to decline the offer when Jayne spoke up, "That sounds wonderful. I've always wanted to try hot chocolate!"

Kin kept herself from doing a face palm. This kid was too nice and trusting. She shouldn't accept any kind of offer from a stranger so easily. If she were alone, she would be in trouble if the stranger had some more evil motives. But there might also be some good to her kindness.

"Can we get a ride then?" Kin asked as her numb legs shook underneath her.

"Sure thing. Hop on, there is plenty of room!" He patted some seats at the back of the wagon. Once they hopped on he continued speaking, "You must be foreigners if you've never had hot chocolate before."

"We are visiting the frozen waterfalls. I've always dreamed of seeing them one day so I've dragged my sister along for a little journey." Kin decided to do the talking to avoid Jayne telling an obvious lie.

"Not many people outside of the Land of Water know of the Frozen Waterfalls. How did you go about hearing 'em?" the man asked in innocent curiosity.

"Well," Jayne looked at the ground as she tried to come up with something clever.

"Our Uncle travels a lot and has always told us stories of different places he's been. The Waterfalls were always one of my favorites so we came to see them for ourselves," Kin said helping her out.

The man smiled, "Yes, they are quite beautiful."

The three of them chatted the whole way to the village where they reached the man's cottage. Outside his wife was waiting for him. She quickly approached them.

"You're late! Where have you been?" She asked with her voice full of concern.

"My wheel got stuck and these kind girls helped me out. I would still be stuck if it weren't for them!" the man revealed Jayne and Kin to his wife. He placed a hand on Jayne's shoulder, "this one has never had hot chocolate before."

His wife smiled, "Well, thank you girls for helping my husband. I can go make you some hot chocolate right now. Come inside!"

Jayne followed the women inside the hut. The style was so different than what she was used to in Konoha. It was made of dark wood with furs and rugs spread across the home. There were a couple spots for fireplaces around the house but only the one in the living room was lit. Kin and Jayne sat down on top of the lumpy cushions of the couch waiting for their hot chocolate.

The women came out with a tray and two mugs, "Careful, it's hot. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your names?"

"I'm Kin and this is my little sister Abby," Kin said as she grabbed her own cup of hot chocolate. Due to her many travels she has had it before, but she was curious to see what the little ninja thought of it.

Jayne brought the mug up to her lips and let the warm liquid slide down her throat. The chocolate spread through her mouth. The drink made its way down her throat and into her chest warming her heart.

Kin watched as Jayne's eyes widened after her first sip, "What do you think?"

"It's incredible! I never knew a drink could be so good!" Jayne quickly drank some more hot chocolate.

"You've clearly never been to a bar," Kin muttered causing Jayne to blush.

"I'm only 13!" she stammered.

"Well Miss Kin, we have an excellent tavern down the street. It is next to the Inn. Is that where you will be staying?" The women asked.

"Perfect!" Kin raised her mug. She would go there tonight to ask about Zabuza and what the people know about him. The girl won't be able to come but if anyone was going to spill the beans about Zabuza, it would be a drunk man in a tavern.

* * *

(A/N: Ayato has already filled the boys in on what the hokage has told him about Jayne)

Itachi watched as the port was slowly drifting further away from them as they sailed off in the boat they had just boarded. It took a while for them to get a boat and crew to take them to Taki Island. They were already running late and the crew they found did't want to travel through the dangerous waters around the Port of Taki Island so they are taking a detour. Itachi looked over at Ayato who seemed to be very frustrated. Shisui was sitting next to Itachi with his back up against the wall. He seemed deep in thought, probably because of all that Ayato had told them about Jayne's clan. Soryu was standing against the deck with his eyes closed. He probably fell asleep. How? Well, that's just part of his charm.

Thinking he should start up conversation, Itachi spoke up, "What are you thinking about?"

Shisui looked up at him, "I am just worried. I wish Jayne would have talked to us rather than just running off."

"Yeah," Itachi sighed.

A large wave hit the boat rocking it a little and Soryu fell over. _Yup, he definitely fell asleep standing there._ He quickly sat up after being woken up. He looked around a bit like he had forgotten where he was.

"How can you fall asleep like that?" Shisui asked.

Soryu looked back at them and shrugged nonchalantly. Ayato came over and stood next to Itachi.

"So, what did Nozomu do when you asked permission to come with us?" Ayato asked Soryu. They had learned that Nozomu was his other teammate.

"Well he got really excited that I was going with you guys. He got a bit teary-eyed," Soryu said.

Ayato smirked, "sounds like him. He is incredibly emotional. Small things excite him, he cries easily, and he is always super happy. When I first met him I had no idea how to handle him."

"It's hard to take him seriously," Soryu sighed.

"When the time comes he can be serious and even though he may not seem like it, he is pretty strong," Ayato seemed to be thinking back to his time on his team.

"This is unrelated, but when are the next chunin exams?" Itachi asked.

"Sometime next year. You don't have to worry about them right now," Ayato said.

"Where is it going to take place?" Itachi continued asking.

"It was in Suna last year so it will be back in Konoha this year. We will invite all hidden villages like usual but if they accept or not is up to them."

"How do you think we will do?" Shisui asked.

"As long as you keep training and we go one more missions I'm sure you will all do fine," Ayato assured them.

Itachi looked out at the sea thinking about succeeding through the ranks of ninja until one day he can become anbu, then hokage. His thoughts then turned to Jayne and Shisui. Ayato's teammates were big influences in his life and he is still on good terms with them. Itachi hopes for a relationship like that with his team. He can picture Jayne and Shisui at his side supporting him no matter what happens. He knows they will always be there for him. This is why he was determined to get Jayne back. Without her they weren't a team, and a team is what they needed to be.

* * *

*Later that night*

Kin sat at the bar with a bottle in her hand. She didn't mind being "undercover" as long as it was in a tavern. She took another swallow of her drink. _Yup, better than hot chocolate._ She decided to approach some tough looking men sitting nearby her.

"So, boys, who is the toughest guy out here on this island," Kin asked.

"Well, you're looking at 'im," a large tough guy pointed at himself.

"Really? Is that so? What makes you the toughest guy on the Island?" She batted her eyelashes to give off a flirty vibe.

"Lee, here, has beat up more men than I can count," the large man's friend said.

"Wow, even ninja?" She gave an impressed look.

"I've taken care of a few of 'em. They know to leave me alone," The man leaned back in her chair smugly.

Kin touched his arm in a playful way, "Even someone like this infamous Zabuza I've been hearing all about lately?" she batted her eyelashes once again to give herself a look of innocence when mentioning Zabuza's name.

The third man that hadn't spoken yet scoffed, "Zabuza, ha. His name seems to have been all around town today. Some little girl running around asking where she can find him. If she knows what's good for her, she will butt out of other people's business."

"Zabuza isn't going to like knowing his name is being spread around. I'm sure someone's already told him about the little brat. He'll take care of it soon," the man named Lee said.

"Is he close by then?" Kin asked hoping they would keep talking.

"Yeah. He could be in town right now for all we know," the second man said.

"Shut up, Jun," Lee smacked him in the head. "You talk too much around pretty ladies."

"Aw, you boys think I'm pretty?" Kin smiled. She got all the information she wanted for the night, now she had to find a way to escape back to the inn.

"Of course, now why don't you have a seat and tell us about yourself," Lee smiled, revealing a few missing teeth.

"I would really like to but my boss would kill me if I showed up for work late again," Kin hoped this would be enough to get away from them.

"And where would a pretty lady like yourself work at this time of night?" The third man leaned forward on his elbows.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she winked and turned to leave. She made sure to sway her hips and give them a good look at her ass as a reward for their unknowing cooperation.

When she exited the building she took a right to head back to the hotel were Jayne was waiting for her. She stopped to glance up at the window that was theirs to see Jayne's head poking above the windowsill. She smiled to herself and started walking again. She only got a few steps when she was suddenly yanked into the alleyway by a strong force. She felt the pressure of a blade at her neck. She glanced down to see a giant ass sword being held at her neck.

A deep voice growled, "Have you been looking for me?"

* * *

A/n: Ermehgerd what's going to happen next? Please leave a review!


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

* * *

Jayne sat in front of the window watching the tavern down the street. Kin went in the tavern almost an hour ago. _How much longer is this going to take?_ The door to the tavern swung open and Kin walked out. She started heading the direction of the inn then stopped to look up at the window. Jayne watched as she started walking again coming across the dark alley next to the tavern. As soon as she stepped past the darkness her body was pulled in and she disappeared from Jayne's sight.

"Kin!" She quickly got up and ran out the door and hurried to the alley where she could make out two silhouettes. She pulled out a kunai, "let her go or else you'll get a kunai to your eye!"

She heard a deep chuckle from the man holding Kin, "Well, what do we have here? A little kid thinks she can take me on?"

"Abby, it's too dangerous, he's-"Kin tried to warn Jayne but was interrupted when the man shoved her into the wall.

Jayne could hear the impact of Kin hitting the wall and clenched her fists, "Come out of the shadows and fight me," Jayne backed towards the street where there was more light.

"You have a lot of confidence for such a small child," he smirked.

"I'm not a child!" Jayne got in a stance ready to fight.

"We'll see about that," The man emerged from the shadows of the alley. His mouth and nose were under some wraps and he held a large sword in one hand.

The man launched his body towards her swinging his large sword. He was so quick Jayne didn't have much time to react. She quickly went on the defensive and threw a few hand signs together. A wall of ice rose between the two opponents. His sword crashed into the ice and shattered it. It was enough to protect Jayne but not enough to stop him. He raised his sword again and was ready to attack.

Jayne made a few quick hand signs and then blew a large force of water out of her mouth. _Ice Release: Ice Bullets._ The water pouring out of her mouth formed into senbon shaped ice and showered over her enemy. He was able to block most with his large sword but one or two were able to get by and graze his arms.

"Abby!" Kin finally got back on her feet. "That's Zabuza."

Jayne's eyes widened and the man scoffed, "I didn't realize I'd become so popular lately."

"Zabuza Mamochi? You were a friend of my father," Jayne said. She didn't want to say the Kushinada name here. Ayato said it would be dangerous and she wasn't stupid. She just hoped Zabuza wasn't either and he'd be able to figure it out.

"You have an ice release Kekkei Genkai. The only people I know with that are the Kushinada clan, who all happen to be dead. So who are you?" Zabuza narrowed his eyes. Her ice release caught his eye the moment she made that ice wall.

"I found a letter in my father's chest where you said you were his student. You said that you would be here at the waterfalls if he needed help," Jayne said hoping the letter would make him realize she was a Kushinada.

His narrowed eyes now widened, "You are Rindoh's kid? But that's not possible, the baby was reported to be killed in the massacre. How did you survive?"

"Er, well I don't know. But I've come to find you so you can tell me about my family and teach me my clan's jutsu. I know you can't perform ice release but you were close to my father and probably knew his jutsu. You can tell me how my father did it, like what kind of stances and techniques he used," Jayne rattled on.

Zabuza looked around their surroundings, "We can't talk about this here. Come with me to my base."

Kin spoke up again, "Hold on. We aren't going anywhere tonight. I worked hard to steal the money to pay for our room at the inn!"

Zabuza seemed amused by the pirate, "Then come to the third waterfall to the right at sunrise."

"Nuh-uh, check out is at 10. We are getting all our monies worth out of this place," Kin crossed her arms.

"We will be there as soon as we can after checking out," Jayne reasoned. She knew there was no coming between Kin and her money.

"Come ready to train. There is also someone I want you to meet," Zabuza said and then poofed out of sight.

"Let's go back. I need an explanation of what's going on so I'm not confused," Kin started to lead the way back to the Inn.

"Yeah, I will tell you all that I know once we get back. I'm sorry I lied about my identity. I just wasn't sure if I could trust you at the time," Jayne apologized. Once she had gotten to know Kin and they became friends, she felt bad about having lied to her. But it's what she had to do to stay safe. "My name is actually Jayne Kushinada."

"Well, it looks like you got a big day ahead of you tomorrow. Get some rest," She smiled. "Goodnight, Jayne."

* * *

*The next day*

Zabuza waited with his little ninja tool, also known as Haku, standing next to him. The young Kushinada girl and her busty friend appeared before them ready to train. He noticed the girl had a similar hairstyle to Haku but the back of her hair was tied in a loose braid while Haku had his usual bun. They had a similar face shape but Haku's eyes were rounder and dark brown. Being part of the Yuki clan meant his physical features were different enough from the Kushinada so nobody would expect his Kekkei Genkai. As for the Kushinada girl, she looked exactly like a Kushinada clan member. Those blue eyes and light brown hair. Zabuza kicked himself for not realizing it the moment her saw her. He just wasn't prepared to ever see a Kushinada again.

"Ready to train?" Zabuza asked.

"Wait, can't you tell me about my father first?" the girl asked.

"We can talk after training," Zabuza spoke sternly. He then pushed Haku a little bit forward, "This kid is going to train with you. "

Since they have the same Kekkei Genkai, Haku would get good training. Because of Zabuza's relationship with Rindoh, he will help the Kushinada girl the best he could, but who's to say he can't get a little something out of it as well. His little ninja tool will become much stronger.

Jayne looked a little confused as she stared at the boy, "Isn't he too young to be my sparring partner?"

"You're not sparring with him. You are training with him. Both learning the same thing."

"He has an ice release Kekkei Genkai?" The girl's eyes widened.

"He is a Yuki. The Kushinada and Yuki clans have the same Kekkei Genkai. Like you, he is the only one left," Zabuza said. He figured telling them they actually had a closer relationship would be distracting.

"Yuki? Wait, that was in the letters! My dad said he had a cousin in the Yuki clan who you were supposed to check in on every once in a while," the girl seemed proud of her memory.

Zabuza sighed. _I guess I will tell them after all._ "This is her son. So your second cousin."

* * *

Jayne stared at the young boy standing quietly next to Zabuza. _Is this really my cousin? Am I not alone in the world? He looks like he is about the same age as Sasuke._

She approached the boy, "Hello, I'm Jayne. Let's work hard together to get stronger."

The boy who's been quiet until now finally spoke up, "My name is Haku. I look forward to training with you." He seemed a bit stiff and awkward, like he didn't talk much to other people.

Jayne pulled out the scrolls from her backpack that had the clan jutsu on them. She unrolled one and read it aloud, "Ice Release: Blasting Ice."

"Hold on. Before Ice comes water. Without water you can't create ice. You need to make sure you get good control of water release jutsu first," Zabuza said.

"I know a couple water jutsu. My sensei doesn't have a water affinity so he doesn't really know very many to teach me. Anything I do with my ice is something I've figured out naturally through training."

"Well I happen to be an expert. We will start with the water dragon bullet," Zabuza put together his hand signs and water began to raise from the nearby lake in the shape of a dragon. It had incredible force and speed as he shot it at one of the water clones.

"Wow," Jayne watched the incredible move. "Alright, let me try."

* * *

Kin was sitting on a nearby rock from where the training was happening. She sighed as the sun began to set. They've been at it all day and Jayne was already working on her third water jutsu. The smaller boy, Haku, struggled more due to his size and age and had to take more breaks.

Finally Zabuza said the words she'd been waiting to hear, "We are done for the day. It's starting to get dark and I'm sure everyone wants some food.

Kin felt her heart leap for joy at that word. Food. Something she hasn't had since early that morning for breakfast. She didn't want to interrupt their training to ask for food. No, she was too prideful to admit she was losing a battle against her stomach.

Zabuza led them to his hideout under the frozen waterfalls. There were some other thuggish looking men around and a communal dinner was already set up. Zabuza took them to his private dining quarters so they could finally discuss the topic Jayne had set out on her journey for.

"So, what do you want to know about your father?" Zabuza asked.

"Everything! But I guess you can start with how he was as a sensei," Jayne was excited. Kin felt happy for the girl, she wanted to know about her family so badly, which was understandable.

"Well, I'm sure you heard the story of how I graduated the academy. Killed every single one of my classmates," Zabuza paused to study the girls reaction.

Kin was proud at the poker face Jayne put on. Something the girl clearly learned from her.

Zabuza continued, "Your father was the only one who was willing to take me on as a student. He didn't care about my past but rather who I was then. Your parents both had a strange sense of optimism and he thought with the proper guidance someone, even like me, could do good. I did do pretty good, stayed out of trouble for a while.

"You're father always showed everyone respect even though he was much higher up on the cast system than them. That's part of the reason I never acted out against him. However, during my anbu days, I acted against the fourth Mizukage, when he was still new. I was immediately classified as a missing-nin and had hunter-nin chasing after me. Despite all of this, your father never gave up hope in me. We continued to exchange letters. After the massacre of your clan, a couple years later I tried my own coup and failed. Ever since then I've been laying low out here."

Jayne was listening intently to all that he was saying. "Do you know anything about my mother or brother?" she asked.

"I met your mother a few times. She was a kind women. I never got to meet your brother," Zabuza said.

Kin watched Jayne as she seemed to be deep in thought with a complex look across her face. Although Zabuza may have known her father, it didn't mean he was a good man. In fact, he really wasn't that good at all. If everything Kin has heard is true then they are lucky to be alive right now.

"Now you're a hired hand that lurks around waterfalls waiting to be paid to kill," Kin rolled her eyes.

She could see the grin under his mask, "I get to do something I enjoy while being paid a lot of money. No harm in that. I made enough money from my last kill that I could pay for your services for a whole month."

"Services?! Who the hell do you think I am?!" Kin raged and her blood boiled. Right now murder didn't sound like such a bad idea.

Jayne quickly stepped in between them before the situation got any worse, "I think it's about time we headed to bed. I have to get good sleep so I can train tomorrow."

Jayne quickly grabbed Kin's arm and dragged her away to the sleeping quarters they were given earlier. Kin was still fuming as she paced around the room muttering explicits at Zabuza.

Jayne sighed as she watched her friend, "I just need a little bit more help from Zabuza and then we can leave. I just need a couple more days."

Kin huffed, "I know. But he thinks he is getting any of my "services" he's got another thing coming!"

* * *

A/N: So I kind of lost my inspiration since I've become busy again. I working hard to finish this arch. If you guys have ideas for another I'd love to hear them! If not, I have a few things floating around in my head.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A/N: So I've been hella busy lately getting back at school. Sorry for such a delayed update. I went back and did some editing to previous chapters thanks to a reviewer who tipped me that my grammar was slacking. You know how it is when your brain's working way faster than you're typing. No content has been changed so it's up to you if you want to go back and reread. Updates still might be slow because of school.

Disclaimer: Naruto's not mine

* * *

It's been another long day on the training field but Jayne was determined to learn as much as she possibly could.

"Jayne, are you ready to learn your clans hidden technique? Your father was the best at it. It's right here on this scroll," Zabuza handed her a scroll that was decorated more elegantly than the others.

Jayne unrolled the scroll and read the jutsu, "Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals." She quickly scanned over the hand signs and other instructions to perform the jutsu.

"This jutsu surrounds the enemies with mirrors that you can travel in between. It's impossible to escape when perfected."

"This jutsu looks like it takes a lot of chakra. I don't have very much left from all our training."

"I know. I want you to get a feel for it now and then we can spend all day tomorrow working on it. Start with creating a single mirror," Zabuza commanded.

"Hai!" Jayne started to get to work on learning her new jutsu.

-/-

Yori and Tsutomu where sitting inside the hideout sharpening their weapons after their last kill.

"You know what I don't understand?" Yori asked.

"Want me to start making a list?" Tsutomu said sarcastically.

"Idiot," Yori rolled his eyes, "What I mean is I don't understand why Zabuza brought in a little girl and that busty bitch. Wasn't he the one that made the no women rule in the hideout?"

"That only applies to women used for pleasure. If they are working like the rest of us then it doesn't matter."

"Exactly, those girls aren't doing either! So what are they doing here?" Yori began stroking his beard as he began to think.

"Zabuza and his little monkey have been disappearing with them during the day. The two little brats come back pretty exhausted and the bitch hangry" Tsutomu said.

"We should track them and see where they went. Then we can find out what they've been up too," Yori stood up ready to take action.

"If Zabuza see's us we'd be dead for following him."

"They've been gone since this morning. They won't be thinking about somebody following them this long after they've left," Yori snatched Tsutomu's sword from his hands so he had to stop what he was doing.

"Alright, I will go with you, but if we get caught I'm going to beat your fat ass," Tsutomu stood up and took his sword back.

The two men followed the tracks left in the snow through the forest until there was a large clearing. They hid behind some bushes and looked out to see the four people in question gathered around. The women was sitting on top of a rock watching the others. Haku was standing next to Zabuza while they watched the girl practicing some kind of jutsu.

"What are they doing?" Yori pushed Tsutomu to the side to get a better look.

"Looks like some kind of training," Tsutomu said while repositioning himself.

"Zabuza have some kind of obsession with kids?" Yori grumbled.

Tsutomu wacked Yori on the back of his head, "You're a dumbass. He's using them as tools. Finding 'em young and helping them makes 'em loyal."

"What makes this girl good enough to get noticed by Zabuza then?" Yori focused in on the training that was going on.

They watched as the girl was focusing hard trying to perform a jutsu. She did some hand signs with hard concentration and a tiny mirror appeared made out of ice.

"I did it!" She punched her fist into the air.

"Hardly," Zabuza huffed. "You have to be able to actually fit into the mirror in order for the jutsu to work." The girl drooped over in defeat.

"Ice mirrors? I thought that was a Kushinada thing? Haven't you ever heard of Rindoh Kushinada's infamous mirroring jutsu? They called him Rindoh of the Demon Mirror!" Yori said with his excitement rising.

"The Kushinada clan is in the dirt, how is she doing this?" Tsutomu asked.

"What about a Yuki? They also have Ice kekkei Genkai."

"They're all dead too. Most of them were killed after the war because of the fear of kekkei genkai."

"What if that's not true? Think about it. If this girl really is a Kushinada, we could sell her to the Mizukage! We'd be set for life!" Yori exclaimed.

"How would we even get ahold of her? Zabuza won't let anyone close to the girls."

"They sleep in a room separate from everyone else, we could sneak in and grab her at night."

Tsutomu began processing the plan in his head, "alright, but absolutely no one else can know about this. If someone else found out about our little discovery here, half of Kirigakure will be after the same girl."

"I know, let's go and get ready," Yori got up.

Yori and Tsutomu made their way back to the hideout discussing their new plan to get rich. Deciding to act tonight, they slipped into the shadows waiting to strike.

* * *

The sound of late night shuffles woke Jayne up from her sleep. It was too loud to be just Kin. She sat up and rubbed her still sleepy eyes.

"Mmph!"Kin's voiced came muffled from the other side of the room.

"Shut up!" A man's voice came with the sound of more shuffles.

The adrenaline kicked in and Jayne flew out of bed ready to attack the intruders.

"Hold on girl, one wrong move and we slash her throat," a gruff voice said.

As her eyes began adjusting to the dark room she could make out the glint of a knife being held at Kin's neck. She knew these men would keep word to their threat.

The man with the large muscular frame moved closer to her, "hands out."

Jayne slowly held out her hands. The man grabbed her arm then twisted her around so it was pinned to her back. She felt cold shackles slip over her wrists and tighten.

"Now don't try any funny business," The same man was now tying a cloth around her mouth to act as a gag.

Kin tried pulling away from the heavy man holding a knife to her throat. As she did this, the knife cut into her neck drawing a little bit of blood. The wound was worth it as she broke free of his hold. Jayne watched as Kin tried to fight the man but she wasn't having any luck. Because of his knife, she couldn't get close enough to strike. Kin looked worried and glanced in Jayne's direction.

Jayne did her best to keep a composed face. She wanted to call out and tell her to run. Kin was tough, but these two men would kill her in an instant. Right now her only hope was Zabuza. Boy was she missing her teammates right now. They were probably so ashamed and disappointed in her for running away. Every night when she lays in bed she realizes more and more what a selfish act running away was. Yet, she has been able to learn so much from someone that was a student of her father. Jayne tried to imagine the faces of Shisui, Itachi, and Ayato to distract herself from her situation.

"Jayne, don't worry, I'm going to get help!" Kin said then ran out of the room before one of the two thugs could catch her.

"Dammit, we gotta hurry before she gets to Zabuza," the round guy grumbled.

"Move!" The large one pushed Jayne forward. She used all the might in her tiny body to resist. The man seemed pretty fed up and resorted to simply throwing her over his shoulder and carry her out.

Jayne tried to kick and scream but it was of no use as the two thugs carried her away into the snow covered forest.

* * *

As Kin began searching for Zabuza, she noticed the whole hideout seemed to be in a state of chaos. Kin finally found him rounding up some men.

She ran up to him, "Zabuza! Jayne-"

"What are you doing out here? It's not safe. I already have enough to worry about without you getting in the way." Zabuza cut her off with his voice full of annoyance.

"Jayne's been kidnapped!" Kin yelled a little louder.

"You've got to be kidding me! I don't have time for this. We're already under attack!"

"Probably by the same people who kidnapped Jayne," Kin concluded.

"No," Zabuza growled, "It's the leaf ninja"


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

A/N: Go to Deviantart and search Jayne Kushinada to find some of the concept art I've made for my OC's. I know I'm a very visual person and like to be able to picture people in my head when reading about them. If you do too then go ahead and check it out.

Disclaimer: I'm running out of different ways to say I don't own Naruto

* * *

Soryu scanned the frozen waterfalls using his byakugan. He started to pick up on traces of chakra towards the waterfalls to the right.

"There is a little more than a dozen people in that direction," he told his makeshift team.

"We have the element of surprise on our hand. Suppress your chakra until we get there so no one gets tipped off. Once we get there, I want you boys to find Jayne. I'll try to take care of most of the enemies," Ayato commanded. Soryu looked at the seriousness on the sensei's face. It was almost the polar opposite of his own sensei's.

The team moved closer to the waterfalls. Soryu used his eyes to constantly scan their surroundings. Of the figures he could make out from this distance, none seemed to be Jayne. They all had the figures of grown men.

They were now only a few meters away from the hideout Zabuza and his men were hiding in. Soryu gave an update on what he saw, "I see fifteen men. There are two close to the entrance standing guard, the rest are deeper into the hideout."

"I'll go in first. Shisui, Itachi, you guard Soryu while he uses his byakugan to search for Jayne," Ayato said giving out more orders.

"I'm sure Soryu knows how to protect himself," Shisui said.

"I'm sure he does, but right now his mission is to search for Jayne. He can do that the most effectively if he doesn't have to worry about enemies," Ayato reasoned.

"Let's go now," Itachi said urging to get this rescue mission started.

Ayato nodded, "Move as planned." With that he sped stealthily ahead into the hideout.

"Alright let's go," Itachi said after waiting a couple seconds to give Ayato a head start at taking out the guards.

Soryu lead the other two ninja through the hideout with his byakugan activated. As they moved through the candlelit passage, they would come across the occasional trail of bodies left by Ayato. Soryu continued scanning the area. In the distance he could see a huddle of more men scrambling to prepare for attack. A women ran up among them. Her chakra levels weren't that of a ninja so it couldn't be Jayne.

"What do you see?" Shisui asked.

"There's a group up ahead, one female, but it's not Jayne," Soryu gave his update.

"Do you see her anywhere? You have to be able to see this whole hideout!" Shisui started to raise his voice.

"I don't see her anywhere. She's not here," Soryu said.

"What do you mean she's not here?! She has to be here! Where else would she be?" Shisui was beginning to panic.

"Let's head towards the group. Ayato should be there soon, maybe we can question some of them," Itachi suggested.

"Alright let's go," Shisui said and grabbed Soryu's arm. "Lead the way"

* * *

Ayato dashed through the halls taking down everyone who stood in his way. Unfortunately, the cave system beneath the waterfall was like a maze with all kinds of tunnels. He wove through different passages until he came across an opening where several men were scrambling for their weapons. Amongst them he found his main target. The Demon of the Mist. He had his large sword at his side. There was another women near him, but it wasn't Jayne.

The men started to notice him and began preparing to attack. Ayato performed some hands signs then slammed his hand into the ground. The ground began to raise and vibrate like a mini earthquake knocking the men off their feet.

"Where is Jayne?" Ayato growled.

"Hold on, who are you?" The women with bright red hair pulled into a high ponytail called out.

"Stay out of it," Zabuza snapped at her. He raised his sword towards Ayato.

"Where is she?" Ayato repeated with a voice more fierce. "If you hurt her in any way, I will not hesitate to put you in the ground."

"I'd like to see you try," Zabuza kicked off the ground and shot at Ayato.

Ayato grabbed his own weapon and dashed at Zabuza with an equal force.

* * *

A/N: So this is a short chapter. But I figured I could update faster if I wrote out a little shorter chapters. Spring semester's been pretty busy. I have a bunch of Lit classes that have taken over my life. Maybe I will be able to update a little quicker by writing a little shorter.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto Characters, that one guy does.

* * *

Shisui followed Soryu through the maze-like hideout and until they came across Ayato engaged in a fight with another man wielding a giant sword.

"Ayato-sensei! Where's Jayne?" Shisui called out.

"Keep looking. I'll handle this bastard," Ayato yelled out to them while throwing a blade of sharp wind at his enemy.

Shisui notice there was another person in the room, a tall female standing off to the side. She didn't look like a ninja nor did she have a hostile attitude. Maybe she'd know where Jayne was. He ran up to her.

"Where's my teammate?" He growled. He couldn't help but have a terrible feeling in his stomach knowing Jayne was nowhere to be seen.

"You're Jayne's Teammate?" Her eyes widened. "You need to help her! She got kidnapped by some men around the same time you guys showed up. They probably escaped while the hideout was in such a loud commotion."

"Kidnapped? Who kidnapped her?" Soryu ran over and joined in the questioning.

"I don't know, some of Zabuza's men figured out her identity. If you guys came from that direction and didn't see them, then they must have taken the back passage towards the forest," the women said. "They can't be too far."

"Soryu, find the way to the back entrance," Shisui commanded.

"Wait, I can show you!" the lady motioned them to follow her.

The three genin followed her through another maze of tunnels below the waterfalls. Each of them with a tightness in their chest. _I can't let them get away with Jayne,_ Shisui thought as he ran through the halls. They felt as if they were never ending and he was never going to get out of this damn hideout. He was never going to find Jayne and bring her home. Luckily, his despairing thoughts ended as soon as they reached the forest.

* * *

Itachi ran with his teammates through the woods until an unknown presence brought them to a stop. In front of them on the forest path was a heavier man waiting for them to arrive.

"You brats didn't think we could sense the three of ya' running up on us?" The man asked with a smug look on his face.

"Where's Jayne?" Shisui yelled

"My partner's probably got her long gone by now," the man said.

"Who are you guys and what do you want with her?" Itachi asked calmly.

"The names Yori, and me and my partner are gonna sell the girl to the mizukage for some good money. I'm not going to a few leaf brats get in the way of that," Yori said.

"Shisui, you take Soryu and go ahead and find Jayne. I will take care of this guy," Itachi said.

"You sure?" Shisui asked.

"Yeah, you guys go save Jayne. I will catch up with you after I deal with him," Itachi said getting ready to fight.

"Alright, see you soon," Shisui grabbed Soryu's shoulder and flicked away.

"Big mistake kid, I'm going to flatten you like a pancake," Yori slammed his large foot into the ground. The Earth started to shake below him creating an tremor through the ground.

Itachi jumped back from where the ground shook beneath him. He watched as Yori slammed his hands together. From his hands formed a seismic blast that shot towards Itachi with a huge radius. He tried to jump out of the way but the blast was too quick. He felt his body flying through the air until it stopped by crashing into a tree.

He picked himself up ignoring the aching in his back. He opened his eyes and activated his sharingan. With his enhanced sight he saw the attacks coming in more slowly and dodged each new seismic blast. Itachi quickly jumped out of the way but his constant fleeing prevented him from making his own attacks. He was finally able to hit a gap in Yori's attacks and blew a stream of fire out of his mouth straight at Yori. Yori wasn't able to move out of the way quick enough and got hit in the side by the fire leaving a nasty singed.

"You little brat! Yer going to regret that, 'cause now I'm real angry!" Yori roared.

Yori, in his new rage, produced more seismic blasts by beating his hands together even faster than before. He attacked in a wild frenzy destroying what was left of their surroundings. Itachi found himself constantly avoiding attacks with no time for breaks. He had to find another opening. Maybe Yori would tire soon and slow down. He'd have to eventually.

Yori began to switch up his fighting style. As he crashed his foot into the ground, instead of a rippling seismic wave, the ground began to break. The ground cracked, shaking between the two ninja. The ground was separating in all different areas. Itachi felt the ground below him tremble as it pulled apart from under him.

Itachi quickly grabbed onto the ledge of the Earth, holding himself up from the drop below. The Earth's tremors made it hard to hold. Itachi pulled out a kunai and stuck it deep into the ground for something sturdy to grab hold of. As the Earth began to steady it took him some time to regain his balance and strength.

His opponent approached his dangling body, standing high above him. He gave a deep chuckle, "Look how puny you are now!" Yori placed his foot on the kunai lodged into the dirt and began to push it around until it would loosen, leading Itachi to his eventual fall and demise.

Itachi grit his teeth as plans ran through his head to get out of his current predicament. He's quick enough and agile enough that he could get around the big, oafish man. Itachi decided to go for it. He used all his upper body strength to pull himself up with enough force to leap into the air. Itachi flipped over Yori's head landing behind him. Quickly pulling out a shuriken, he threw it and sent it slicing through his opponent's back.

A bloodcurdling scream spewed from Yori's mouth as the Shurkien sank deeply into his back. He stumbled forward from the force of the impact. Unfortunately for him, there was no forward, just a gaping pit in the ground. One he created. His body fell, disappearing into the darkness of the unlit innards of the Earth. Itachi stood over the open Earth and gazed down until he heard the thud of Yori hitting the bottom of the deep aperture in the ground.

He gave a deep sigh of relief after defeating his enemy. He wasn't sure what exactly to do with all these new holes the earthquakes created. However, that was a problem for another time. Shisui and Soryu were still out there going after Jayne and her abductor. Itachi leapt up into the trees hoping he would arrive in time to help them out. Who knows what kinds of power this other abductor has…


End file.
